
Class __r 5.1^ J 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



THE CLERGY 



AMERICAN LIFE AND LETTERS 



National Stuliife in "^Imcrican ^Lfttcrs. 

GEORGE EDWARD WOODBERRY, Editor. 



OLD CAMBRIDGE. 

By Thomas Wentwokth Higginson. 

BROOK FARM. 

By Lindsay Swift. 

THE HOOSIERS. 

By Mereuith Nicholson. 

THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE AND 
LETTERS. 

By The Rev. Daniel Dulany Addison. 

IN PREPARATION. 
THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL NOVEL. 

By Paul Leicester Ford. 

THE KNICKERBOCKERS. 
By The Rev. Henry van Dyke, D.D. 

SOUTHERN .HUMORISTS. 

By John Kendrick Ban(;s. 

FLOWER OF ESSEX. 
By The Editor. 

Others to he announced. 



THE CLERGY 



IN 



AMERICAN LIFE AND LETTERS 



BY 

DANIEL DULANY ADDISON 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON : MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd, 
1900 

All rights reserved 

L • 



^9154 

Library of Coijqrcat 

Two Copies Reclived 
NOV 22 1900 

SLiONiicopy 

Opi'vottf* to 
OROtll DIVISION 

DEC B 19(111 






Copyright, 1900, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Xortoooli 59rcBB 

J. e. CushinK k Co. - Berwick & Smith 
Norwood Masa. U.S.A. 



TO THE MEMORY OF 

IKg Jatfjer 
THOMAS GRAFTON ADDISON 

FOR MORE THAN A QUARTER OF A CENTURY 
A PREACHER OF RIGHTEOUSNESS 

In SHasijinstcn 



PREFACE 

The object of this book is to present the 
literary work of the American clergy in its two- 
fold aspect as the expression of religious life 
and national thought. A study of the more 
varied influence of the clergy on American life 
is a necessary introduction to a consideration of 
their influence in American letters, because their 
literary activity was so frequently the natural 
outcome of the life and thought habitual to them. 
Contained in their discourses and sermons is 
often to be found the essence of their intel- 
lectual life, and, in the institutions they founded, 
the accomplishment of their ideas for the im- 
provement of the people. Among their political 
orations, also, are some of the most important 
examples of this form of literature, in which the 
clergy recorded their opinions on the national 
questions of the day, and exercised their influ- 
ence on American thinking. 

In dealing with a field so broad, a freedom of 



viii PREFACE 

treatment has been used in certain parts, nota- 
bly in the chapter on " The Clergy in American 
Life," which seemed more suitable than a formal 
and technical study ; and in the chapter on 
" Denominational Literature " the limit of space 
has made it necessary to condense the refer- 
ences to some important men. The book does 
not aim to be either exhaustive or encyclopaedic, 
but to give a general view of the literary work 
of those who, by their religious calling, may 
be included in the term "the clergy." It was 
thought that this could best be done by treat- 
ing in sketches typical clergymen who were lit- 
erary men, and then making a more extended 
examination of the most important writers, — 
Dwight, Channing, Parker, Bushnell, Beecher, 
and Brooks, who by their work would illustrate 
the whole subject. 

Sufficient biographical material has been in- 
troduced to give a background to the purely 
literary analysis. No attempt has been made 
to enter into theological discussion or criticism. 
Religious references occur only when rendered 
necessary because of the theological character 
of the books that are examined. 



PREFACE ix 

In the main it has been the plan of the 
author to follow the suggestion of the editor 
of this Series to tell the story of the influence 
upon American life and letters of the clergy 
during the national era of American literature. 
Little attention, therefore, has been given to the 
clergy who lived before the Revolution. 



D. D. A. 



Brookline, Mass., 
September i, 1900. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 

I. THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 

n. EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 

III. POETRY AND ROMANCE 

IV. DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 
V. TIMOTHY DWIGHT . 

VI. WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 

VII. THEODORE PARKER 

VIII. HORACE BUSHNELL 

IX. HENRY WARD BEECHER 

X. PHILLIPS BROOKS . 



I 

39- 

84 
113 
157 
191 

229 

268 
304 
341 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 
AND LETTERS 

CHAPTER I 

THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 

Lowell, in his Harvard address, spoke of 
the parson in the olden time as being what 
his name implied — the chief person of every 
community. This foremost place was occupied 
by him without a rival in the colonial period, 
and even far into the national era. In rural 
districts, especially in New England, he was 
the most loved of men, and at times the most 
feared. This autocratic position often devel- 
oped rugged types of men who by reason of 
their long settlement became privileged char- 
acters. There is hardly a town that does not 
have a tradition of some strong minister about 
whom humorous tales were told. Of one it was 
sung after his death — 

" Young to the pulpit he did get 
And seventy-two years in't did sweat." 



2 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

It was long remembered that Mather Byles, 
in turning over the hour-glass during a very 
lengthy sermon, remarked, " Now, my hearers, 
we will take another glass." Sometimes the 
peculiarities of the parson were as marked 
as those of the Rev. Joseph Moody, com- 
monly called " handkerchief Moody," the per- 
son who suggested to Hawthorne his story of 
"The Minister's Black Veil." Mr. Moody 
usually shrouded his face with a black hand- 
kerchief. When reading a sermon he would 
lift the veil, but turn his back to the people so 
that they could not see his face. Sometimes 
the benevolence of the minister was like that 
of Mr. Eaton of Harpswell, Maine, who carried 
in his saddle-bags, on his pastoral visits, lancets 
and medical supplies, and thus became the 
welcome guest of the parents, but the terror 
of the children. 

The awe with which the clergyman was 
regarded reached a climax on the Sabbath 
morning, when he proceeded to the meeting- 
house for worship, as in the case of Rev. 
Mr. French of Andover. "The whole space 
before the meeting-house," says Josiah Quincy, 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 3 

as he recalled the incident, "was filled with 
a waiting, respectful, and expecting multitude. 
At the moment of service the pastor issued 
from his mansion with Bible and manuscript 
sermon under his arm, with his wife leaning on 
one arm, flanked by his negro man on his side, 
as his wife was by her negro woman, the 
little negroes being distributed, according to 
sex, by the side of their respective parents." 
When the discourse was concluded, sometimes 
called by admiring friends "a large, nervous, 
and golden discourse," the minister went back 
to the regular life of the manse, which means 
that he often worked in his garden, and sawed 
wood, and mingled with the people on terms 
of friendly interest. Within the parsonage or 
manse, or in the South the rectory, there was 
a wholesome, intellectual life, deepened often 
by a manly religion. 

From out of these ministers' homes, where 
large questions were of daily concern, and 
a visit from a neighboring parson meant a 
solid argument or a sprightly conversation, 
have issued some of America's best men, as 
statesmen and writers of literature. The only 



4 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

library of any size in the community was in 
the parson's house. Nor were the books only 
calf-bound, theological treatises. Locke " On 
Government " was sometimes squeezed be- 
tween Johnson's " Lives of the Poets " and 
Butler's "Hudibras." Milton and a stray vol- 
ume of Shakespeare might be occasionally seen 
wedged in between a series of election ser- 
mons. These books were often thumbed by 
the minister's boys, and loaned to other in- 
quiring lads. Not the least gift of the Ameri- 
can clergy has been the training of their 
sons. It can never be forgotten that the 
ancestors of Emerson had been ministers for 
five generations ; his own grandfather ren- 
dered signal service to the state by encourag- 
ing his parishioners at the fight over Concord 
Bridge in 1775, and died of fever later, on his 
way with the soldiers to Ticonderoga. It 
was from the home of old Dr. Lowell that 
James Russell Lowell started upon his public 
career to enrich American letters and to ele- 
vate political thinking. Oliver Wendell Holmes 
was prepared to take his place among the 
cheerful singers in the parsonage of his father. 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 5 

Dr. Abiel Holmes, near the college in Cam- 
bridge. 

In order to educate their own children, the 
clergy often, because of the smallness of their 
stipends, taught school. The Rev. Abijah 
Weld of Attleborough had a salary of two 
hundred and fifty dollars a year, but he suc- 
ceeded in rearing a family of eleven children ; 
and some of his brother ministers increased 
their families to two or three times that num- 
ber by taking the neighbors' children as pupils. 
These little clerical schools were specially fitted 
to give a sound foundation of learning, and incul- 
cate a piety that is at the basis of strong charac- 
ter. It is related that the venerable Moses Hal- 
lock educated, in his own family, over three 
hundred young people ; and among the pupils 
that Dr. Wood of Boscawen, New Hampshire, 
trained for college, were two of his parishion- 
ers, Ezekiel and Daniel Webster. Patrick 
Henry was always ready to acknowledge his 
debt for instruction and inspiration to Samuel 
Davies, whose style of eloquence in the pulpit 
was the model that he adopted in his own 
great speeches. Timothy Dwight established 



6 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

a school at Northampton, and afterward con- 
tinued it for many years at Greenfield, Con- 
necticut. 

The efforts of the clergy in education are 
seen most fully in the founding and sustain- 
ing of colleges and higher institutions of learn- 
ing. Here they have rendered to literature 
the greatest service. These institutions have 
been the breeding-ground of the best men of 
America. Even among self-made men the col- 
lege has been a powerful element for education, 
because the very books from which they learned, 
when following the plough or reading by the 
light of the wood fire, were written under the 
shadow of the universities. The college has 
almost invariably furnished the tools, without 
which the strongest native genius would be a 
mute statesman or a tuneless bard. 

The clerical graduates of Cambridge, Eng- 
land, were responsible for the founding of Har- 
vard College in 1636 ; and the Rev. James 
Blair, in 1693, may be called the father of Will- 
iam and Mary College. The clergy have been 
vigorous supporters of the American colleges 
as they gradually came into being : Yale in 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE / 

1700, Princeton in 1746, Columbia in 1754, 
Brown in 1764, Dartmouth in 1759, Rutgers 
in 1770, and the many others that have come to 
enrich American life. The names of many of 
the great college presidents were those of minis- 
ters whose strong personalities and attainments 
were impressed upon the institutions for genera- 
tions. Not to mention the colonial college 
presidents, it is sufficient to recall Ezra Stiles, 
Timothy Dwight, and Noah Porter of Yale, 
Eliphalet Nott of Union, Francis Wayland of 
Brown, James McCosh of Princeton, and Mark 
Hopkins of Williams. These were men of 
administrative ability, with great personal mag- 
netism, wise in judgment, and looked upon as 
heroes in their day. Many a young man dated 
his success in life from a conversation in the 
study of one of these college presidents. They 
had different methods of discipline, but they 
were all moved by the same impulse, — the de- 
sire to prepare young men who should do a man's 
work in the world. Though this type of presi- 
dent may not be needed in the modern uni- 
versity, it must be remembered how those 
men made possible the institutions that have 



8 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

grown so extensively since their day. The col- 
lege sermon of the president, coming from a 
man whom the students trusted, had no little 
influence in moulding their thought ; and when 
this was enforced by a word of personal encour- 
agement, or warning privately given, one can 
well understand why the alumni regarded the 
college president as the father of their intel- 
lectual and spiritual life. 

The clerical control of colleges has not al- 
ways been an untempered blessing. Enforced 
attendance on religious services, compulsory 
subscription to forms of belief, as well as a 
minute inspection of conduct, with petty rules 
and methods of discipline, have often retarded 
the normal growth of a free manhood. A 
conservatism which feared innovations often 
barred the way to progress. The spell of the 
classics was probably prolonged by those who 
read the Old Testament in Hebrew, the New 
Testament in Greek, and the Church Fathers 
in Latin. But there has always been a pro- 
gressive as well as a conservative clerical 
element. The conservative clergy were doubt- 
less disturbed by the liberal tendencies of the 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 9 

colleges, but the consent of the broad-minded 
ministers was gladly given to reforms. Mr. 
Henry Adams, in his " History of the United 
States," referring to this element says, "with- 
out the moral and material aid of this clerical 
body, which contained several hundred of the 
most respectable citizens clad in every town 
with the authority of spiritual magistrates, the 
college would have found itself bankrupt in 
means and character." 

The clergy have naturally, in their preaching, 
dealt with questions of public interest when 
these have involved what they considered moral 
issues. Christianity applied to contemporary 
conditions has been a favorite theme. In the 
colonial days this application of religion to life 
was interpreted to be a careful oversight of 
the daily lives of the people. The clergy were 
then practical magistrates, and scored the of- 
fenders by public announcement as well as 
by private advice. They were also as deeply 
interested in political questions as in moral 
ones, and used every occasion — the Sabbath 
worship and the special anniversary. Fast Day 
and election-sermon time — for laying down, not 



lO THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

general principles only, to be vaguely applied 
by the people, but for entering boldly the arena 
of political strife. Such civic activity was to 
be expected from the American clergy, for the 
traditions of their English ancestors were those 
of warfare waged with the sermon and the 
tract, as also with the spear and sword. The 
state controversies in England had been a mix- 
ture of politics and religion; and with this 
traditional justification for discussion, the clergy 
entered vigorously into the debate of the hour. 
In New England especially, the minister, in 
his three-cornered hat, dressed in small-clothes, 
carrying a gold-headed cane, was the village 
oracle when he entered the private door or 
outlined a political duty. The clergy in no 
other part of the country exercised the same 
kind of influence. In Virginia, though for the 
early period the Church of England was estab- 
lished, and the clergy, with exceptions known 
as the fox-hunting parsons, were often men of 
education and force of character, they did not 
exercise much direct control in political matters. 
In Pennsylvania and New York, the Quakers, 
the Dutch, and the Presbyterians were never 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE II 

backward in expressing themselves on moral 
and political issues. When the Revolution 
came, however, and independence was secured, 
the clergy from every part of the country, 
unless they were Tories, used their voices and 
their pens in the common cause of American 
freedom. The same love for their country 
made them freely preach the truth as they 
saw it during the Federalist and Republican 
struggle for the mastery in the War of 1812, 
the Missouri Compromise, the antislavery agita- 
tion, and the events that led up to the Civil 
War, as well as during that war, and in later 
times. The clergy have always looked upon 
themselves as citizens of the land with the 
same right as others to join in the discus- 
sion of public questions ; and whenever these 
questions have had a moral bearing, they have 
felt it a duty not to keep silent. 

As striking an illustration of American politi- 
cal preaching as can be found is contained in 
the long series of Massachusetts election ser- 
mons from 1634 to 1884. The leading clergy- 
men of New England were honored by the 
appointment as preachers before the General 



12 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Court. While some dealt lightly with the 
burning issues, many of the clerical orators 
boldly spoke to the times. Many a phrase let 
fall in the early sermons became prophetic of 
coming events, as when Thomas Shepard, in 
1672, taking "Eye-salve" as his subject, 
urged the establishment of " Free Schools 
where poor Scholars might there be educated 
by some Publick Stock." At another time the 
phrase " Democracy is Christ's government in 
Church and State " clung to the memories of 
men. In his optimism, one trusted that God will 
apply a " Sanative Cataplasm, an healing Plas- 
ter," and looked upon the new land of America 
as a place planted with the seed for which 
" God sifted a whole nation that he might 
send Choice Grain over into this wilderness." 
The preachers, nevertheless, discerned the evils 
of the age and poured forth upon them the min- 
gled fury from more than seven vials of wrath, 
using such words as " epanalepsis," "horren- 
dous," and "brizzils." When the French and 
Indian wars were settled, the Lord was 
thanked for sweeping "away thousands of 
those salvage Tawnies with a mortal Plague, to 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 1 3 

make room for a better people." When signs 
of the Revolution began to multiply, among its 
first heralds were Jonathan Mayhew and Sam- 
uel Cooke, who, in 1770, laid down "The True 
Principles of Civil Government." Constant 
references were made to the " absurd and ex- 
ploded doctrines of passive obedience and non- 
resistance"; and when the actual conflict was 
on, the preachers were unfailing in their ap- 
peals to patriotism, asserting at times, "It is 
better to be free among the dead, than slaves 
among the living." 

The interest in slavery is early reflected in 
these sermons; but as the Civil War drew near, 
the subject seems to have been avoided. This, 
however, is not an evidence of fear on the part 
of the ministers, for in many other ways, and 
on other occasions, they let their opinions be 
known, and worked strenuously for emancipa- 
tion ; it is rather a sign of their self-restraint 
and a desire to use the special election ser- 
mon for other purposes. The importance of the 
annual sermon at a later period was not so great 
as it had been. There were many other forces 
at work, and it is doubtful if any good result 



14 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

would have been accomplished by a partisan ser- 
mon delivered before the General Court. For 
the last fifty years of the existence of the cus- 
tom, the discourses deal more than previously 
with ethical and social and philosophic ques- 
tions. Doctrinal and even political discus- 
sions were giving way before the steady rise 
of the social movements which occupy such 
an important place in our modern world. 
Temperance, the rights of the laborer, the 
administration of charities, the duties of the 
strong to the weak, the need of hospitals 
and proper care for the insane and prisoners, 
were the themes treated. Such a selection of 
topics was as much a sign of the times as 
was the dogmatism of Puritan days, or the 
Federalist preaching of the War of 1812. The 
cause of the people was being heard. A Chris- 
tianity of the daily life was beginning to take 
the place of a Christianity for the special occa- 
sion and the political crisis. 

These indications in the election sermon of 
the interest of the clergy in state and national 
affairs were also to be found in the various 
towns and parishes. For evidence of this it is 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 1 5 

not necessary to go back into the colonial days 
when the official magistracy of the ministers 
was recognized, and they served as colonial 
agents to England, John Norton going over in 
1662, and Increase Mather helping to procure 
the Provincial Charter of 1694. The history 
of the clergy during the Revolution is in the 
main that of patriotic men, who believed in 
the cause of the colonies, and who urged upon 
the people the duties of resistance and the 
wisdom of establishing a confederacy of states. 
At the time of the Revolution there were the 
two well-defined parties, the Tories and the 
Whigs — those who believed in submission to 
England and those who were for rebellion. It 
was natural to find some of the clergy in each 
party ; and it is a fact that in the various 
churches in different sections of the country 
there were those loyal to King George and 
those loyal to Congress. The Tory element 
was not confined to any particular church, 
though perhaps the greatest number of Tory 
ministers was found in the branch of the 
Church of England, in the colonies known as 
the Episcopal Church. Episcopalians, how- 



l6 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

ever, both clergymen and laymen, were among 
the foremost of the patriots ; but there were 
members of both orders who felt it their duty 
to return to the mother country. As many of 
the Episcopal clergy in New England withdrew, 
leaving in Massachusetts only two who re- 
tained their parishes during the war, — Edward 
Bass of St. Paul's Church, Newburyport, and 
Samuel Parker, of Trinity Church, Boston, — 
the impression went abroad in that section that 
all of the Episcopalians were disloyal to the 
Revolutionary cause. A great many more than 
a majority of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence were Episcopalians, while Wash- 
ington, Hamilton, Marshall, and many of the 
most prominent generals and statesmen be- 
longed to the same church. It was the Rev. 
M. Duche who opened, in a most impressive 
manner, the session of the Continental Con- 
gress in Philadelphia in 1774. John Adams, 
writing to his wife about this service, described 
the clergyman in his robes as he read the 
collects and the psalter for the seventh day, 
it being September ; further stating that " Mr. 
Duche, unexpectedly to everybody, struck out 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 1 7 

into an extempore prayer, which filled the 
bosom of every man present. I must confess 
I never heard a better prayer, or one so well 
pronounced. Episcopalian as he is. Dr. Cooper 
himself never prayed with such fervor — such 
ardor — such earnestness and pathos — and in 
language so elegant and sublime — for America, 
for Congress, for the Province of Massachusetts 
Bay and especially for Boston. It has an excel- 
lent effect upon everybody here." William 
White, afterward bishop of Pennsylvania, was 
at one time chaplain of Congress ; and William 
Smith, a learned and eloquent Episcopal divine, 
preached often to the troops in Philadelphia, 
and celebrated in appropriate sermons, since col- 
lected into important volumes, the successive 
victories of the Revolution. 

One of the most valuable contributions to 
the organization of the colonies for consulta- 
tion and defence was a suggestion made by a 
minister, Jonathan Mayhew, the brilliant and 
fearless preacher of Boston. The origin of 
the proposal for the concerted action of the 
colonies is told in a letter from Mayhew to 
James Otis, written on the Lord's Day, June 8, 
c 



1 8 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETl'ERS 

1766. "You have heard of the communion of 
c/uirches" he wrote, "and I am to set out to- 
morrow morning for Rutland, to assist at an 
ecclesiastical council, not expecting to return 
this week; while I was thinking of this in my 
bed, the great use and importance of a com- 
munion of colonies appeared to me in a strong 
light, which led me immediately to set down 
these hints to transmit to you." With such 
an illustration of the fertility of suggestion on 
the part of the clergy before them, it is no 
wonder that the First Provincial Congress of 
Massachusetts in 1774 addressed a petition 
to the clergy to aid them in securing the ad- 
herence of the people to the enactments of 
Congress. The petition reads, " That they 
assist us in avoiding that dreadful slavery with 
which we are now threatened by advising the 
people of their several congregations, as they 
wish their prosperity, to abide by and strictly 
adhere to the resolutions of the Continental 
Congress." 

The clergy responded in their usual way, at 
first by sermons and pamphlets, and then 
when the shots were fired, by enlistment both 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 1 9 

as common soldiers and chaplains. Even in 
the midst of the enemy they were mindful of 
their duty. It is related of a minister of New- 
Haven, during the British occupation, that, 
when ordered to offer prayers for the king, he 
obeyed by praying, " O Lord, bless thy ser- 
vant, King George, and grant unto him wis- 
dom ; for Thou knowest, O Lord, he needs it.'" 
The clergy helped the cause by such preach- 
ing as that of Samuel West, who boldly pro- 
claimed that " Providence seems plainly to 
point out to us the expediency, and even the 
necessity, of our considering ourselves as an 
independent state," as well as by marching to 
battle, as did Samuel Eaton of Brunswick, 
Maine, who headed forty of his parishioners, 
and proceeded to the front, Eaton was not 
unlike the minister in Danvers whose deacon 
was captain of the minutemen, while he him- 
self was lieutenant ; or Thomas Allen of Pitts- 
field, who, having served on the Committee of 
Correspondence, joined in battle, musket in 
hand, with the army at White Plains, Ticonder- 
oga, and Bennington. Joshua Paine of Stur- 
bridge showed the same spirit when he offered 



20 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

to pay one-fifth of his salary for a cask of 
powder, the deacon being responsible for the bul- 
lets. More important than bullets and powder 
often were the chaplain's sermons, which were 
printed and freely circulated, and the soldier's 
songs, which were used on many battle fields, 
composed by Timothy Dwight. The music of 
the songs and the solemnity and earnestness 
of the spoken words stirred the men to action. 
Who could resist the words of one of the Revo- 
lutionary preachers when he declared, " It is 
an indispensable duty, my brethren, which we 
owe to God and our country, to rouse up and 
bestir ourselves ; and being animated with a 
noble zeal for the sacred cause of liberty, to 
defend our lives and fortunes even to shedding 
the last drop of blood " ? 

After the Revolution, until the Presidency of 
Thomas Jefferson, the clergy were active in 
using their influence for the ratification of the 
Constitution and in organizing the Republic 
during the critical period of the building of a 
nation and adopting just laws for the govern- 
ment of the independent states. The churches, 
however, were weakened in various ways. In 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 21 

Virginia, the governmental support being with- 
drawn, the church declined to such an extent 
that Bishop Madison, finding so few clergy in 
his diocese, was forced to become a teacher in 
William and Mary College. The effect of the 
French Revolution was also seen in the church- 
going habits of the people, and the colleges 
became hot-beds of infidelity. In Yale College 
the students were so fond of Voltaire and Rous- 
seau that they applied these names to them- 
selves as nicknames. Paine's "Age of Reason " 
rather increased the disrespect into which reli- 
gion in many places had fallen. The infidelity 
and antagonism to religious institutions that had 
grown up explain the hatred of the New Eng- 
land Federalist clergy for the great Democratic 
movement that placed Jefferson in the presi- 
dential chair. Their horror of Napoleon and 
a possible French alliance, together with 
their fear of Jefferson and the mob, was in real- 
ity religious rather than political. Their reli- 
gious prejudices dictated their political ideas. 
They could never forget that Jefferson had 
allowed Paine to be brought from France to 
America in a government ship, and then invited 



22 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

him to the White House, — the man who had 
said to Washington, "You are treacherous in 
private friendship and a hypocrite in public 
hfe." Jefferson they regarded as a demagogue, 
whose word could not be trusted, and were only 
too willing to believe the stories circulated 
about his private life. At one time in their 
sermons they called him Ephraim who had 
become entangled with the heathen, and again, 
he was Jeroboam who weaned the people from 
Jehovah. The celebrated minister, Joseph 
Buckminster of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 
represented many of his brethren when he 
thought that a divine scourge would fall upon 
the land because of Jefferson's success. 

This attitude of the New England clergy 
reached a climax when the War of 1812 was 
declared. Their sermons had much to do with 
forming the general sentiment of New Eng- 
land regarding the war. What Channing 
and Dwight preached with moderation, others 
propounded with less self-restraint. The ex- 
tremists of the Hartford Convention were 
encouraged by such statements as those of the 
rector of Trinity Church, Boston, J. S. J. 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 23 

Gardiner, who exclaimed from his pulpit on 
July 23, 18 12: "The alternative then is, that 
if you do not wish to become slaves of those 
who own slaves, and who are themselves the 
slaves of French slaves, you must either, in the 
language of the day, cut the connection, or so far 
alter the National Compact as to insure your- 
selves a due share in the government." 

Moral questions interested the clergy even 
more than political ones ; though it is surpris- 
ing not to find more reference to the special 
sins of the time than is contained in the writ- 
ings of the ministers of the first quarter of the 
nineteenth century. The consciences of the 
people were just being awakened ; and occa- 
sionally vague applications of ethical principles 
were made to such concrete evils as duelling, 
intemperance, prison reform, and slavery. A 
theology of metaphysics was gradually being 
supplanted by a theology of life. 

Duelling was a well-recognized method of 
settling disputes that involved the honor of the 
contestants. It was the survival of the old 
trial by combat, and though often used for 
purposes of revenge and actually for murder, it 



24 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

was considered, especially in the South, as a 
most respectable way of satisfying the demands 
of personal honor. Members of Congress, when 
led into personal recrimination by the heat of 
debate, often cooled their ardor by an exchange 
of shots at Bladensburg, a few miles from the 
capital. Duelling pistols with inlaid handles 
and silver mountings were as usual a gift to a 
gentleman as a silver snuff-box or a cut-glass 
decanter. Occasionally the clergy would rouse 
themselves and point a moral when there 
occurred some specially shocking duel. A brave 
man was Walter Dulany Addison, rector of 
St. John's Church, Georgetown, D.C., who had 
himself appointed special constable by Presi- 
dent Jefferson for the purpose of arresting 
duellists. Many were the stories told in Wash- 
ington of " Parson Addison " and his experi- 
ences with those determined to fight ; how the 
minister chased them on horseback ; how at 
another time he interrupted the little affair by 
suddenly appearing in their midst armed with 
the authority of the state. His congregation 
knew, if he was absent from the Sunday ser- 
vice, that he was following the scent of a duel 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 25 

arranged to occur at the very time when the 
duellists were sure the parson would be busy 
with his public ministrations. 

The practice of duelling received a serious 
setback when the nation was startled, in 1804, 
by the death of Alexander Hamilton, pierced 
by a bullet from the pistol of Aaron Burr. The 
clergy everywhere were vehement in their de- 
nunciation of the act which robbed the country 
of one of its most trusted advisers and greatest 
men. The sermon that set forth in the most 
commanding fashion the indignation at the 
crime was preached by Dr. Eliphalet Nott in 
the North Dutch Church in Albany, on July 29, 
1804. "I cannot forgive," he said, "that min- 
ister at the altar, who has hitherto forborne 
to remonstrate on this subject. I cannot for- 
give that judge on the bench or that gov- 
ernor in the chair of state who lightly passed 
over such offences. I cannot forgive the public 
in whose opinion the duellist finds a sanctuary." 
Timothy Dwight's famous sermon against duel- 
ling, delivered in the college chapel at Yale, 
was long remembered, and contributed, with 
others, to create a public opinion hostile to 



26 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

the practice, though many famous duels were 
fought after that of Burr and Hamilton. Ly- 
man Beecher's ringing words, " We are mur- 
derers, — a nation of murderers, — while we 
tolerate and reward the perpetrators of the 
crime," occur in a sermon of his, forty thou- 
sand of which were printed and scattered over 
the North and used against Henry Clay. 

The duty of avoiding drunkenness was early 
preached by the clergy, though there are ac- 
counts of frequent "jolly ordinations" where 
the wine-cup was a natural part of the festivi- 
ties, and this in New England. In Virginia 
the hospitable sideboard always had upon it 
decanters from which the parson, as an honored 
guest, was expected to partake. Even Cotton 
Mather had asked in 1689, "whether the mul- 
titude or quality of drinkiug-Jiouscs in the midst 
of us had not once been a stumbling-block of 
our iniquity,'' and Joseph Baxter in 1727 in- 
quired, " Is there nothing more to be done 
to keep Town-dwellers from sotting away their 
Time at Taverns .-' And cannot there be some- 
thing done that will be more effectual to pre- 
vent the making of Indians Drunk } " 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 27 

The growth of a real temperance question, 
with kindred ideas of total abstinence, did not 
begin until the years between 1808 and 1813, 
the date of the starting of the Boston Society 
for the suppression of intemperance, though 
this society could not be called a total absti- 
nence body. The Presbyterian clergy in 18 18 
put themselves on record, that men ought "to 
abstain from even the common use of ardent 
spirits." The two men who had the most to 
do with the formation of public sentiment at 
the start were Dr. Nott and Lyman Beecher. 
Dr. Nott, when President of Union College, 
prepared a series of most exhaustive lectures, 
treating the subject from the scriptural, physi- 
cal, and social sides, and showing how both 
religion and morals were arrayed against the 
drinking habits of the people. These lectures 
were afterward collected and printed, in 1823, 
in a volume that attained great popularity, 
called " Sermons on the Evils of Intemper- 
ance." Lyman Beecher's famous "Six Ser- 
mons " were among the first publications to 
hint at prohibition; in these he declared that 
the only remedy for intemperance was "the 



28 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

banishment of ardent spirits from the list of 
lawful articles of commerce." When Channing 
came to deal with the subject in his address 
before the Massachusetts Temperance Society 
on February 28, 1837, he spent very little of 
his time in condemnation, but in his wise way, 
seeking the causes that produced intemperance, 
he antedated our modern methods by suggest- 
ing reforms that might substitute some health- 
ful occupation and amusement to satisfy the 
cravings which brutal and inferior minds con- 
ceive are only appealed to by intoxication. He 
asserted that the widespread vice was due to 
the burden of toil that the poor had to 
bear, to intellectual depression, to sensuality 
and want of self-respect. To remove these 
causes he advocated innocent pleasures for 
recreation and culture: popular music, dancing, 
and even the theatre, if a better drama might 
spring up in the place of the coarse and indeli- 
cate performances which were then given. 
Restrictive legislation and the enforcement of 
important laws have resulted from the temper- 
ance agitation by the ministers, though they 
have not always agreed as to the best ways and 
means of solving the problem. 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 29 

The greatest moral question, without doubt, 
that the American clergy had to face, was 
slavery ; and after all is said, and the facts are 
known, it is just to say that they faced it 
boldly and with wisdom. Long before the 
slavery question entered into the domain of 
politics it was both directly and indirectly the 
subject of their work and preaching. With 
subtle power it was sure to be felt when serious 
and religious men preached the moral principles 
of Christianity : the only wonder is that the 
agitation did not begin earlier. In colonial 
days there were more than occasional refer- 
ences to the iniquity of the institution. When 
the first society for the abolition of slavery was 
organized in 1774 among the Quakers of Phila- 
delphia, there were ministers in Massachusetts 
who unhesitatingly advocated emancipation. 
Dr. Hopkins in Newport, the centre of the 
slave trade, urged, without ceasing, the sin of 
buying and selling human beings, and Samuel 
Stillman, in a sermon preached in Boston in 
1779, prayed, " May the year of jubilee soon 
arrive, when Africa shall cast the look of grati- 
tude to these unhappy regions for the total 



30 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

emancipation of her sons." He was followed 
by Moses Hemmenway, in 1784, who described 
" that inhuman monster, slavery, which has too 
long been tolerated. . . . And it is devoutly 
wished that the turf may lie firm upon its 
grave." Dr. Levi Hart, in 1774, at a town 
meeting in Farmington, Connecticut, had spoken 
freely on the subject, which was further con- 
demned in a poem published in 1775, by Aaron 
Cleaveland of Norwich, that singular character 
who was both a hatter and a minister. 

The first deliberate announcement of the 
moral wrong of slavery by any of the churches 
was made by the Methodists in the conference 
of 1780, when they resolved "that slavery is 
contrary to the laws of God, man, and nature, 
and hurtful to society ; contrary to the dictates 
of conscience and pure religion, and doing that 
which we would not that others should do to us 
and ours." The Presbyterian Church no less 
than six times, between the years 1787 and 1836, 
declared in favor of the abolition of slavery, by 
asserting "the deepest concern that any vestiges 
of slavery remained in the country." It was 
in 1823 that the annual Fourth of July address 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 3 1 

against slavery was begun in the Park Street 
Church, Boston. Then, in various parts of the 
country, and even in the South, there was a 
dissemination of antislavery ideas, before the 
abolition movement began its crusade. His- 
tory has not brought out sufficiently the power- 
ful influence exerted in frontier towns and 
cities of the West, by the itinerant Methodist 
preachers and the Universalists, under the 
impulse of that vigorous soul, Elhanan Win- 
chester, who, by planting his doctrines west of 
the Alleghanies and in the Ohio Valley, secured 
Christian civilization to many scattered hamlets, 
and nourished the thoughts which developed 
among the people a clear conscience to deal 
with the slavery issue when it came. When 
slavery became a burning political question and 
the air was full of recrimination, and homes and 
friendships were rent asunder, the churches 
felt the strain. The Methodist church, North 
and South, divided in 1845, the immediate 
cause being a slave-holding bishop, James O. 
Andrews, who said, " Strange as it may seem to 
brethren, I am a slave-holder for conscience' 
sake." The Northern Methodists could not 



32 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Stand this, and they so legislated that a great 
schism in the church occurred. There was the 
same break in the Presbyterian church in 1857, 
when the Fugitive Slave Law became the cause 
of contention. 

The abolitionists claimed some of the clergy 
as their ardent supporters, notably, many of 
the Methodists, and men like Theodore Parker, 
who threw himself heart and soul into the 
movement ; but the large body of the clergy, 
among them such men as Channing and Bush- 
nell, refused to ally themselves with the ex- 
tremists. They were as opposed to slavery as 
the most vituperative fanatic. They, however, 
felt that the abolitionists were taking the wrong 
course to achieve any practical results. It has 
often been charged that the clergy were cow- 
ardly and time-servers, because they did not 
join in the general chorus of invective. Their 
position should not be misunderstood. When 
they thought it wise to act, they protested in 
overwhelming numbers, as in the memorial 
against the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, which bore 
3050 signatures. They preached against slav- 
ery, and upheld continually the principles which 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 33 

they knew in time would undermine the whole 
institution. One leading cause of their absence 
from the abolitionist meetings was, that slavery 
was not the only theme under discussion. 
Other things were dragged in, and frequently 
religion was held up to ridicule. " If the 
assembly was disorderly," said Emerson, "it 
was picturesque. Madmen, madwomen, men 
with beards, Dunkers, Muggletonians, Come- 
outers, Groaners, Agrarians, Seventh-day Bap- 
tists, Quakers, Abolitionists, Calvinists, Unita- 
rians, and Philosophers, — all came successively 
to the top." The mistakes of Moses and the 
mistakes of the churches were illuminated with 
the same coruscation as the "southern broods 
of Hell." The air thus became sulphurous and 
difficult for rational people to breathe. The 
abolitionists seemed to care little for the Union. 
" Let the slave states go," became the cry ; the 
clergy believed in the Republic, and were willing 
to use every means to keep it a united whole. 
They also desired to retain some hold on the 
South until that moment arrived when it was no 
longer possible ; and they felt that there were 
other arouments to be used in debate than abuse 



34 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Webster told the Senate that hostihty to 
slavery was born in the religion of his constitu- 
ents. He uttered a great truth : the religion 
they had learned from childhood, which they 
associated with every stage of their history, 
and the traditions of their ancestors, which 
developed in them the sense of brotherhood 
and touched their practical natures with sym- 
pathy, were the force that made them act when 
the fulness of time had come. The vital seed 
sprang to the harvest when the soil was watered 
with the red blood of sacrifice. 

As the time for the great conflict drew near, 
representatives of the clergy everywhere were 
using their might to stay the impending seces- 
sion. General Scott said that the state of Cali- 
fornia was saved to the Union "by a young 
man of the name of King." This was none 
other than Thomas Starr King, a strong 
preacher and brilliant lecturer, who was the 
champion of the Union at political gatherings 
throughout California just before the war. 
Dr. William Eliot of St. Louis, it was freely 
said, " has done ten times as much as any other 
ten men to keep Missouri true to the Union 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 35 

as a free state." Even the leading Southern 
bishops opposed secession. " You see I am 
almost in despair," wrote Bishop Meade ; " I 
am told that our clergy in Charleston preach 
in favor of disunion." Bishop Otey of Tennes- 
see exclaimed, " It is God alone that can still 
the madness of the people." The Episcopal 
General Convention threw its great influence 
on the side of the Union, by declaring the 
readiness of its members to fight for the cause. 
Those were days when men had to choose, and 
every indication of loyalty was of value. While 
Moses Stuart of Andover upheld slavery, and 
Bishop John Henry Hopkins advocated the 
peculiar institution of the South in his notori- 
ous book on the "Vindication of Slavery," 
there were many men in all the churches who 
believed in the righteousness of the war and 
who foresaw that emancipation must result 
from the successful ending of the conflict. 
Abraham Lincoln knew what the churches and 
ministers had really done in upholding his 
policy. His opinion is preserved for us in the 
following words : — 

"Nobly sustained as the government has 



36 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

been by all the churches, I would utter nothing 
which might in the least appear invidious 
against any. Yet without this it may fairly 
be said that the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
not less devoted than the rest, is by its 
greater numbers the most important of all. . . . 
God bless the Methodist church ! bless all the 
churches ! and blessed be God, who in this 
our great trial giveth us the churches." 

During the Civil War, in many ways, through 
the Sanitary Commission, as chaplains, and as 
a home-guard of inspiration, the clergy man- 
fully bore their part in the great struggle. 
More conspicuously abroad, men like Henry 
Ward Beecher, Archbishop Hughes, and Bishop 
Mcllvane rendered important service in sustain- 
ing the friendly neutrality of European govern- 
ments. Beecher's remarkable series of speeches 
in England on slavery and the war did much to 
arouse the people of England to see the justice 
of the Union cause. Archbishop Hughes, in 
response to Seward's request, went on a semi- 
official mission to France and helped, by his 
tact and good sense, to prevent any possibility 
of intervention or recognition of the belliger- 



THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LIFE 37 

ents. Bishop Mcllvane went on a similar 
errand to England, where, as an ecclesiastic of 
the Anglican Communion, he was cordially- 
received, and was able, even beyond his expec- 
tations, to place the facts so clearly before his 
hearers, that they became more favorably dis- 
posed toward the administration of Lincoln. 

Thus, by the use of voice and pen, the Ameri- 
can clergy have exercised, through well-recog- 
nized literary channels, a great influence upon 
American life. In referring to this influence, 
it must also be remembered that they were 
preachers of the Christian religion. If Chris- 
tianity has been a power in the land in devel- 
oping the human conscience and inspiring 
rectitude of character, in encouraging men to 
lives of service, in introducing sentiments of 
high honor and business integrity, it has in 
large measure been due to the ministers. They 
have had a hearing in every hamlet, — on one 
day set apart from the seven when the children, 
the ignorant, and the men of education and of 
power have heard them. They have thus sus- 
tained a sense of the divine source of duty, and 
led their hearers into the presence of universal 



38 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

moral forces. Their teaching has been potent 
on every battle-field, and in every legislative 
hall, in fine examples of devotion and in acts of 
heroism. The place that Christianity occupies 
in American civilization is largely due to the 
life and example of the clergy. 



CHAPTER II 

EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 

From the colonial and provincial periods of 
American letters there have survived, out of 
the mass of sermons, systems, and pamphlets 
of the theologians, a few books that may be 
called literature. "The Magnalia" is curious, 
and a mine for the historian of manners ; but 
by far the best survival is Edwards's " Freedom 
of the Will," a study full of originality and a cer- 
tain buoyant force that makes the metaphysical 
treatise as lucid and harmonious as the author's 
own aesthetic love when dealing with nature 
and the soul, unhampered by inherited dogma- 
tism. Edwards stands at the head of the 
list of American theologians and literary men ; 
and though he contributed to the philosophi- 
cal and theological side of life, his work is 
so genuine and so beautifully done that he 
39 



40 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

must be claimed as a literary force, the move- 
ment of which has not yet been stayed. 

Another of these survivals is Michael 
Wigglesworth's " Day of Doom," a solemn 
relict of Puritan poetry before the verse of 
New England tripped lightly along and cele- 
brated themes other than the dread mystery of 
a fallen race. Even Nathaniel Ward, the 
author of " The Simple Cobbler of Agawam," 
occasionally left Sinai for Parnassus and ob- 
served that 

" Poetry's a gift wherein but few excel, 
He doth very ill, that doth not passing well, 
But he doth passing well, that doth his best, 
And he doth best, that passeth all the rest." 

The loving diary of David Brainard still 
breathes of the suffering that willed to sacri- 
fice, and through gloomy self-analysis he 
reached a joy in the thought of service to man 
and God, exclaiming on his death-bed, as 
Edwards tells us: "J/j/ Heaven is to please 
God, and glorify Him, and to give all to Him, 
and to be wholly devoted to His Glory ; that is 
the Heaven I long for ; that is my Religion, 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 4I 

and that is my Happiness. '' The Quaker John 
Woolman, school-teacher, tailor, and preacher, 
has left a journal with a simple literary style, 
self-poised and direct, which Whittier, in 
editing in 1871, speaks of as revealing a serene 
and beautiful presence. The thought pervad- 
ing the whole of the diary, that "religion is 
love," is a mild antidote to the fierceness of 
belligerent theologians, and proves that within 
the whirlwind of debate there was a still small 
voice which could be heard in the sheltered 
soul. 

In the national era of American literature 
this same impulse for self-expression is to be 
seen in even a more vigorous form. For the 
most part college graduates, except when cer- 
tain sects have rejoiced in an uneducated minis- 
try, the clergy have in varying degrees put their 
learning into the form of precise expression 
with uninterrupted regularity and unrestrained 
voluminousness : the weekly sermon, written 
with care, has been their editorial leader, 
enforced with special addresses and orations, 
making an inevitable event as "sure as preach- 
ing." In the exposition of doctrines and the 



42 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

controversies between sects there have been 
books innumerable, books of attack and de- 
fence, pamphlets with curious names, huge com- 
mentaries and systems of theology and philos- 
ophy ; and occasionally some of the more ener- 
getic of the clergy have turned aside from the 
immediate duty and written histories, biogra- 
phies, sketches, poems, hymns, and even novels. 
There are many reasons which account for 
the lack of genuine literary fertility among the 
clergy. They have been engaged in the work 
of creating churches and institutions. The 
very fabrics and endowments have had to be 
built up, especially in the rapidly growing parts 
of America. There are few fellowships with 
pecuniary value attached which make it possible 
for a man to devote himself to special branches 
of study ; and the average American parish, 
with its numerous demands of a public and pri- 
vate character, is not favorable to profound 
study or that quiet reflection necessary for 
works of the imagination. The clergy have 
been preachers, organizers, reformers, citizens, 
men eminently respected in their communities, 
giving of their time and thought to the needs 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 43 

of the people. These very characteristics have 
prevented them from developing their talents 
in literary directions. Centred about the univer- 
sities there have been clergymen who could de- 
vote themselves more particularly to writing, and 
here and there a parish minister has been able to 
take the time to make himself proficient in some 
branch of learning. But in the main, it has 
been difficult for the clergy to do two things at 
once, be pioneer builders and upholders of the 
institution, and give free play to their talents 
for research or delicate literary expression. What 
time or inclination for letters had the Metho- 
dist itinerant preacher and circuit-rider, who fre- 
quently camped out in the mountains or found 
a night's lodging in a log-cabin on the prairies .-' 
He did an important work in connecting the 
scattered settlements together with a bond of 
friendly and moral interest, but he could rarely 
even keep a diary of his experiences and, in 
many cases, thrilling adventures. The Univer- 
salist preacher, pushing his way into the forests 
of Ohio and Illinois, engaged in the same kind 
of pioneer work, could do little more than carry 
with him the doctrine of John Murray and 



44 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Hosea Ballou. The Baptist ministers through- 
out the South and West created congrega- 
tions and taught them the principles of right 
conduct. In their pathway sprang up innumer- 
able colleges which they founded, and these 
became important elements in the general 
diffusion of education. 

Among the Congregational clergy of New 
England with the Unitarian development so 
fruitful in literary inspiration, and the sturdy 
Scotch-Irish Presbyterians of the Middle states 
with their love for dogmatic theology, and the 
Episcopalians drawing upon the wealth of Eng- 
lish Church tradition and refinement, are to 
be discovered the sources of literature. The 
old established universities belonged to them. 
They were in closer touch with foreign thought, 
and better able to interpret contemporary 
events. Harvard and Yale, Princeton and 
Columbia, were the breeding-places of Ameri- 
can ideas. 

It has been said that the American mind 
has worked, first in theology, second in politics, 
and last in literature. Historically, this makes 
an easy division, but in each department there 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 45 

have always been representatives, sometimes 
more of one than of another ; it would be a 
narrow definition of literature to exclude from 
it either the theology of earlier or later days, 
or their politics, and confine it to the poetry, 
or essay, or novel of the modern time. Pro- 
fessor Richardson, in his admirable book on 
American Literature, speaking of the early theo- 
logical writings of the ministry, says : " Their 
kinship in literature lies only in the fact that 
they were written, and that they had an ideal 
theme. This must be the final verdict with 
reference to thousands of printed pages, pro- 
duced by godly and justly honored American 
ministers before the Revolution. Their quaint 
characteristics and their doctrinal systems do 
not make them literature for the most part." 
This may be true, but it does not exclude from 
literature theological writing either in the colo- 
nial or national era, if such writing attains the 
dignity of important utterances on human rela- 
tionships and man's duty to his Creator. Eng- 
lish literature has surely been indebted to the 
sermons of Hooker, Tillotson, Leighton, and 
Paley. The American clergy have in many 



46 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

different ways made similar valuable contribu- 
tions to our literature. The parish minister 
would take the time usually allotted to exercise 
and spend it in his library, or use his vacations 
for investigation into some subject that inter- 
ested him. Many who, because of ill health 
or for other reasons, retired from their active 
ministry, often made fruitful their declining 
years by writing and publishing books on sub- 
jects of importance. In more than one case, 
however, the love for letters superseded the 
love for the clerical profession, and the latter 
was renounced in order to devote the whole 
time to the pursuit of learning. 

Among the clergy, therefore, there are many 
names of men who have enriched the literature 
of America as historians, poets, hymn-writers, 
authors of fiction, builders of theological sys- 
tems, expounders of philosophy, and writers of 
a vast variety of books included in what has well 
been called " borderlands of literature." It is 
by no means easy to classify these various 
authors, because they did not confine them- 
selves to any one branch of literature, often 
being conspicuous for works in several depart- 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 47 

ments, and, in addition, having a well-earned 
fame as preachers and, it may be, as administra- 
tors and theologians. One wrote history, and 
also indulged in philosophical speculation ; 
another was something of a poet, while at the 
same time he would be known as the writer of a 
Latin grammar ; one famous as a college presi- 
dent would write important treatises on moral 
science ; and one known as the author of 
novels, would become the stately historian. 
Authorship was often incidental to the main 
purpose of life, though in many cases the mis- 
sion of literature, as a permanent and wide- 
spread method of rendering service to the 
nation, was recognized, and the author sacri- 
ficed a temporary success in less exacting 
fields to the more lasting benefits conferred 
through the printed page. 

History was a congenial study to the clergy, 
because they were ministers of a historical 
religion. Doctrines and church organizations 
in every stage of their development bear the 
marks of historical conflicts. Naturally, there- 
fore, those who watched the passage of the 
centuries with special interest, would be among 



48 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

the first to record contemporary events, and 
delve into the traditions of the past. Promi- 
nent among these historians are Ezra Stiles, 
Jeremy Belknap, Abiel Holmes, William White, 
John G. Palfrey, John Stephens Cabot Abbott, 
Jacob Abbott, and Octavius Frothingham. 

Ezra Stiles (1727- 1795) was acknowledged 
to be one of the most learned men of his 
generation. Before he was elected to the 
Presidency of Yale College in 1777 he was 
a correspondent of many foreign literary men, 
writing at one time a letter in Latin to the 
principal of a Jesuit college in Mexico, and 
again to the Prefect of the University of Co- 
penhagen to make minute inquiries about 
some Arabic manuscript that had been dis- 
covered in Egypt. He was a remarkable He- 
brew scholar, and made more progress than 
any of his American contemporaries in Per- 
sian, Arabic, and Syriac. In scientific ex- 
periments he was aided by Benjamin Franklin, 
who sent Stiles, when a tutor at Yale in 1749, 
an electrical apparatus with which he made 
many experiments, — the first, in fact, ever 
made in New England. Franklin continued 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 49 

his interest, and sent him a Fahrenheit's 
thermometer, and later suggested to the Uni- 
versity of Edinburgh that it confer the de- 
gree of D.D. upon him. These favors were 
reciprocated when FrankHn visited Yale, and 
President Stiles made an appropriate address 
of welcome in Latin, though this was nothing 
unusual for him, for at Commencement he 
sometimes delivered a Hebrew oration in the 
morning and a Latin one in the afternoon. 
The funeral orations in honor of Governor 
Law and Bishop Berkeley were considered 
impressive, though in the Latin language. 
Classical scholarship did not prevent Dr. Stiles 
from taking keen interest in the history of 
his country. He began an " Ecclesiastical 
History of New England," which, however, 
he never finished ; and his manuscript Journal 
filled fifteen volumes. The chief historical 
work he engaged in was "A History of Three 
of the Judges of King Charles I.," containing 
the account of Whalley, Gojffe, and Dixwell, 
who, at the Restoration in 1660, fled to Amer- 
ica and were concealed for many years, though 
frequent efforts were made by the Crown to 



50 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

bring them to justice. This historical work 
is valuable as a careful inquiry at first hand 
into the history and fate of the three judges. 
Governor Hutchinson's account of their ca- 
reer is generally sustained. An investigation 
is made into the compilations of Whitlock and 
Rushworth, with quotations from other Euro- 
pean sources ; and a careful examination into 
the local traditions and reports concerning 
their places of residence, adventures, and graves 
in America are added, with arguments for 
their defence, and a full account of their deal- 
ings with the king. The object of the book 
is to enable " the world to form an idea of the 
principles and design of these worthies," and 
the hope is expressed that " the memory of 
these suffering exiles will be immortalized with 
honor when there is a proper method adopted 
of judging criminal royalty." The conclusion 
is reached that " all three were of King 
Charles's Judges ; all three were of the Par- 
liamentary and Oliverian army ; all three mem- 
bers of Parliament ; two of them of Oliver's 
most honorable House of Lords." 

The three men on landing in America stayed 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 5 1 

for a time in Cambridge, but later sought safety 
in flight to New Haven, in which city Dixwell 
Hved for many years, changing his name to 
Davids. Goffe and Whalley went to Hadley and 
were secreted by the minister, Mr. Russell, in 
a little chamber of his house, behind the 
chimney and between two rooms. It was re- 
lated that they were buried in the cellar of the 
minister's house. All together the story is a 
most romantic one, and well told. Dr. Stiles 
showing the instincts of the true historian by 
basing his conclusions on documents he had 
inspected and the evidence of persons whom 
he had cross-questioned. The analysis of the 
inscription on a tombstone in New Haven to 
discover whether Whalley was buried by the side 
of the acknowledged grave of Dixwell is most 
ingenious, suggesting the mind of the mathe- 
matician, and must have been like the calculations 
of Dr. Stiles when computing the orbits of the 
stars, as he pursued his favorite study of astron- 
omy. In the chapter on the justification of the 
judges we have a clear Puritan estimate of the 
righteousness of the verdict against Charles I., 
in the contention: "That in great revolutions 



52 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

and national rescues of parties and entire liberty, 
these tribunals may be and have been as dif- 
ferently instituted, and yet become vested and 
clothed with just, legal, and plenary authority : 
and that the high court of 1649 was such a 
legal tribunal, and that their sentence was 
righteous and just." 

Before the Revolution, Dr. Stiles was one of 
those calm observers who saw that it was com- 
ing and helped to form public opinion by the 
remark that " there will be a Runnemede in 
America." When during the war there were 
British commissioners appointed to negotiate 
with Congress, he forcibly maintained that "no 
proposal for interviews and negotiations should 
be attended to without this preliminary : An 
act of Parliament renouncing the dominion of 
these states, and acknowledging their indepen- 
dence and sovereignty ; at the same time 
withdrawing their armies ; then we may listen 
to propositions of alliance." Though Dr. Stiles 
hesitated to accept the Presidency of Yale, say- 
ing that " the diadem of a President is a crown 
of thorns," he fulfilled the duties of the office 
acceptably, being also Professor of Divinity, 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 53 

Oriental Languages, Philosophy, and Natural 
Sciences. His administration of the college 
was hampered by controversies concerning the 
constitution of the institution, the legislature 
refusing to make appropriations for its financial 
assistance. The conduct of the students and a 
certain laxity of discipline further interfered 
with the best organized work, but he paved the 
way during the trying time just after the Revo-, 
lution for the more normal regime under his 
successor Timothy Dvvight, His published 
works include a celebrated "Election Sermon" 
and "An Account of the Settlement of Bristol" ; 
and he left behind him in manuscript more than 
forty volumes. His journal is full of historic 
interest. A fragment of it has been published, 
containing an account of a journey on horseback 
from New Haven to Philadelphia, where he 
viewed with pleasure " the rods and wires which 
defended the Academy House from lightning." 
He noted such peculiarities as a woman three 
feet high, and a monkey which he saw by the 
way, not failing to describe his entertainment in 
New York, where with his friends he "supped 
and settled politics over a generous bottle." 



54 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Jeremy Belknap (1744- 1798) has been called 
"The Father of American History." His 
claim to this title rests mainly on his two 
works, " History of New Hampshire " and 
" Historical Account of those Persons who 
have been Distinguished in America " ; though 
he also was one of the founders of the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society, having drawn up, 
in 1790, a plan of an Antiquarian Society. At 
first he was a minister in Dover, New Hamp- 
shire, where his interest in local history was 
aroused, and then minister of the Federal Street 
Church in Boston. The " History of New 
Hampshire " was one of the first attempts to 
gather the scattered material lying hid in pri- 
vate secretaries and town houses, and use them 
in a connected whole as the story of a state. 
De Tocqueville commended the work, and 
Governor Wentworth, who was a conspicuous 
figure in the state at the outbreak of the Revo- 
lution, contributed facts of importance to the 
historian, and, though differing from the author 
in many particulars, spoke highly of its accu- 
racy and fairness. The book has been regarded 
as authoritative, and is written with polish and 
learning. 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 55 

The most ambitious of Belknap's works was 
the series of biographies under the undiscrimi- 
nating title, " Historical Account of those Per- 
sons who have been Distinguished in America." 
His aim was to produce a sort of extended bio- 
graphical dictionary, which should embrace the 
biographies of " the discoverers, adventurers, 
statesmen, philosophers, divines, warriors, au- 
thors, and other remarkable characters, com- 
prehending a recital of the events connected 
with their lives and actions." This great 
undertaking was not completed, but a sufficient 
number of persons were treated to show his 
design and to present their histories for the 
first time in a series of sketches not unlike 
Plutarch's Lives. The list of names includes 
the pre-Columbian discoverers, Biron, Madoc, 
Prince of Wales, and Zeno, the Venetian ; also 
Columbus, the Cabots, John Smith, Bartholo- 
mew Gosnold, Henry Hudson, Francis Wyatt, 
Miles Standish, John Winthrop, Calvert, and 
William Penn. Besides drawing on original 
sources whenever he could get at them, he 
often visited distant points to verify his state- 
ments. In preparing the account of Gosnold, 



56 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

he visited the island of Cuttyhunk at the 
entrance of Buzzards Bay, and assured himself 
that this was the island on which the discoverer 
lived, because, to his satisfaction, he found the 
remains of Gosnold's store-house, as it had been 
described, " on an islet in the middle of a pond 
of fresh water." This work was the beginning 
of the growth of that historical consciousness 
on the part of the American people which 
since these early efforts has flourished so 
extensively. 

"The Foresters," of Belknap, published in 
1796, was popular in its day. It is a humorous 
tale of American history, not without subtlet}'' 
and wit. Originally appearing in the Colum- 
bian Magazine, it attracted attention and was 
read as an ingenious method of presenting the 
writer's views on many historical and political 
topics. The different countries and states 
play their parts in the story under appropriate 
names : John Bull is, of course, England, his 
mother is the Church of England, and his 
wife is the Parliament, his brother Patrick 
being Ireland. The Foresters represent Amer- 
ica, Peregrine Pickle stands for Plymouth Col- 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 57 

ony, Peter Bull-Frog for New York, Hunter 
Longknife for Kentucky, Black Cattle for 
the Negro Slaves, Roger Carrier for Rhode 
Island, and Walter Pipeweed for Virginia. 
These characters have fheir family troubles 
and amusing adventures, all slyly pointing to 
genuine political and social conditions. John 
Bull proved very good to his friends "as long 
as they continued to be of his mind." The 
religious peculiarities of Rhode Island were 
indicated when Roger took offence at the 
letter X, and desired to have it expunged 
from the alphabet because it was the shape 
of a cross ; he refused to do his duty at a 
military review because there was an X in 
the colors. At the same time Roger seemed 
to have a leaning toward knavery, "for he 
publickly advertised that he was ready to pay 
his debts by note of hand, subject to a dis- 
count, the amount of which was indefinite 
because continually increasing." The conten- 
tion of some of the colonists that the Society 
for the Propagation of the Gospel, originally 
formed to convert Indians, was using its money 
to win over to the Church of England the 



58 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Puritans was thus set forth, after a description 
of the failure to propagate knowledge among 
the savages : " After some trials, which did 
not answer expectation, Old Madam Bull con- 
ceived that the money which was collected 
might as well be expended in teaching Mr. 
Bull's own tenants a little better manners ; 
for some of them were rather awkward and 
slovenly in their deportment, while others were 
decent and devout in their oxvn way. Madam, 
as we have before observed, was a great zealot 
in the cause of tmiformity, and had a vast 
influence over her son, by virtue of which the 
attention of the club was principally directed 
to the promoting of this grand object. Ac- 
cordingly, every one of the tenants was fur- 
nished with a Bible and a Prayer Book, a 
clean napkin, basin, platter, and chalice, with 
a few devotional tracts, and some young ad- 
venturers, who had been educated in the family, 
were recommended as chaplains; who had also 
by-orders to keep a look-out toward the sav- 
age animals when they should fall in their 
way." The humor of " The Foresters " is 
often strained, but is interesting for other rea- 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 59 

sons than the unwonted spectacle of a serious 
divine treating lightly the ponderous facts of 
history, which in other places he had expounded 
with sufficient solemnity. There is a lack of 
humor, however, in the bald statement found 
in Belknap's diary concerning an extremely 
sentimental fact : — 

" June 14. Preached at Ipswich. 

^^ June 15. Preached, Boston ; evening, mar- 
ried. 

" June 18. Set out on our return." 

In the Revolution, Dr. Belknap was active 
principally in writing addresses to the people 
of New Hampshire and to British officers. 
When there was resistance to the Boston Port 
Act, he publicly solicited aid by urging the 
people to help the rebellious ones, saying, 
" Shall not we, though our ability is but small 
in proportion to theirs, do what we can to 
enable our brethren, who are foremost in the 
conflict, to maintain the cause in which they 
are engaged by a firm and manly persever- 
ance.''" To General Gage when his army was 
camped on Boston Common he appealed, not 
in the most persuasive tones : " Gentlemen, I 



60 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

pity you, — what have you done to deserve 
such disgrace ? You are sent over into Amer- 
ica for the meanest and basest purposes." In 
sketching Revolutionary characters, especially 
those whom he had met, Dr. Belknap was 
graphic, as is well illustrated by what he said 
of General Charles Lee : " a perfect original, 
a good scholar and soldier, and an odd genius, 
full of fire and passion, and but little good 
manners ; a great sloven, wretchedly profane, 
and a great admirer of dogs, of which he had 
two at dinner with him." Dr. Belknap's other 
works were the " Life of Isaac Watts " and a 
compilation of hymns called " Sacred Poetry," 
the principle of selection being announced to 
provide pleasure to different types of Chris- 
tians, those who do not scruple to sing praises 
to their Redeemer, " and others whose tender- 
ness of conscience may oblige them to confine 
their addresses to the Father only, will find 
no deficiency of matter suited to their ideas 
of the chaste and awful spirit of devotion." 

Oliver Wendell Holmes playfully describes 
himself as a youth bumping about in a library 
when he was hardly taller than the folios of 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 6 1 

his father, whom he refers to as a clergyman 
and an author, his "Annals of America" hav- 
ing made him a reputation as an accurate and 
trustworthy writer. Abiel Holmes (1763-1837), 
preacher in Cambridge, author of biographies 
and histories, and published discourses, and 
sometimes poems, was all of this, "an accu- 
rate and trustworthy writer " ; and more, for he 
was a wise father and a pioneer in the field of 
the study of the complete history of America. 
There are sage letters of advice to his son, 
Oliver Wendell, that prove his judgment ; and 
the career of the son shows that the instruction 
was heeded. When the future wit and poet 
was at school in Andover, he may have smiled 
at the stateliness of his father's tone in the 
letters he received, but he was careful to listen 
to the admonition. Dr. Abiel Holmes was, 
however, one of the most "delightful of sunny 
old men," and though the son met in his 
father's house some "ministers with meagre 
throats and a funeral service in their physiog- 
nomies," he also knew those who spoke " as 
living men to living men," not all his minis- 
terial acquaintances being of the sort who prided 



62 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

themselves on discoursing "as dying men to 
dying men." 

It was in preparing the " Life of Ezra Stiles " 
that Abiel Holmes first became engrossed in 
literary studies. He had married the daughter 
of Dr. Stiles, and received possession of the 
manuscripts of the learned President of Yale 
on his decease. After this he wrote "The 
History of Cambridge," a description of the 
soil, the trees, the river, the churches, and Har- 
vard University, with an account of each build- 
ing, not omitting to mention the first license 
for an inn "to sell beare and bread for enter- 
tainment of strangers, and the good of the 
town." The volume concludes with biographi- 
cal sketches of the ministers of Cambridge, 
especially Thomas Hooker, Samuel Stone, Will- 
iam Brattle, and Nathaniel Appleton. The great 
book of his life, however, was "The Annals of 
America" from the days of Columbus to 1826, 
the date of the last edition of the work. The 
project of writing such a comprehensive his- 
tory was formed when he learned that no such 
attempt had been made before in the domain 
of American history. There had been separate 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 63* 

histories of special localities and phases of 
American life, but this work of Dr. Abiel 
Holmes may be considered the genuine fore- 
runner of Bancroft's " History of the United 
States." " While local histories of particular 
portions of America have been written," writes 
Abiel Holmes, " no attempt has been made to 
give even the outline of its entire history." 
None knew better than the author how difficult 
a task was his in the effort to include within one 
work the events of several centuries, and he was 
modestly satisfied should the volumes serve as 
an " index to the principal sources of Ameri- 
can history." The work was well received in 
America ; and an English reviewer said, " It 
displays great industry and research, and is 
peculiarly valuable," though it called forth the 
usual British sarcasms and misrepresentations 
that then assailed any venture into the realm of 
American letters. Dr. Abiel Holmes pleaded 
in answer that there be "no party in the Re- 
public of Letters." The term "Annals" indi- 
cates the character of the history. It relates 
in chronological order events, without show- 
ing much logical connection between them, 



64 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

the influence of cause and effect on the prog- 
ress of history being not so well understood 
then as now. It would be called, judged by 
modern methods, fragmentary, because it can 
hardly be said to be welded into a whole. 
There are many series of facts given like the 
following : — 

" 1 7 19. The first number of the Boston 
Gazette was printed at Boston, and the Weekly 
Merc7iry at Philadelphia. 

" The first Presbyterian church in New York 
was founded this year. 

"The Aurora Borealis was first seen in New 
England on the 17th of December." 

The historical work of Dr. Abiel Holmes 
found another outlet through the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, of which he was for some 
time corresponding secretary. The records 
contain several of his contributions, notably 
a curious " Memoir of the French Protestants, 
who settled in Oxford, Mass., in 1686," and 
the " Memoir of the Mohegan Indians." His 
printed sermons usually deal with historical 
subjects, the address before the American 
Antiquarian Society in 18 14 being of this char- 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 6$ 

acter, as also the two discourses, December 24, 
1820, on "The Completion of the Second Cen- 
tury from the Landing of the Forefathers 
of New England at Plymouth." Two of the 
important sermons of Dr. Holmes were occa- 
sioned by the death of General Washington. 
He preached one almost immediately after the 
death of Washington, and the other on Feb- 
ruary 22, 1800. The first was a general 
estimate of Washington's character, and the 
other, " Recommending the Counsel of Wash- 
ington." After comparing the great President 
to " Camillus flying to defend the Capital," 
" Cato ready to devote his fortune and his life 
to the salvation of his country," and " Cincin- 
natus returning from the camp to the farm," he 
adds, " In the peculiar situation of our infant 
country, the wisdom of Washington was better 
than weapons of war " : he was also character- 
ized as " deliberate, without perplexity ; calm, 
without apathy ; animated, without enthusiasm ; 
decisive, without pertinacity ; and bold, without 
temerity." The counsels of Washington recom- 
mended, were for unity of government with no 
geographical discriminations, good faith and 



66 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

justice toward all nations and regard to moral 
and religious duties. 

There was one side of Dr. Abiel Holmes's 
nature which few recall, but which has a pecul- 
iar interest because of the genius of his son. 
There survives a little time-stained book, called 
"A Family Tablet," containing some of his 
verses and others by friends, which he col- 
lected. The poetry is not of great merit, but 
displays at least a love for versification. The 
author of "The Autocrat" and " Elsie Ven- 
ner" believed so fully in the doctrine of hered- 
ity that it is not without its suggestiveness to 
run across such a little book of verse emanat- 
ing from his father. The dignified historian 
enjoyed the writing of serious and occasional 
verse almost as much as his son. It is natural 
to find him writing a hymn at sea, singing : — 

" Who here can cast his eyes abroad, 
And not adore the eternal God ? 
Vast are the products of His skill, 
Nor aught can stay His sovereign will." 

A reflection on the flight of life is like the 
setting to rhyme of sentences from a sermon. 
But it is altogether delightful to hear him 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 6/ 

writing to his sweetheart, thanking her for the 
gift of a jonquil : — 

" What magic art hath taught thee thus to live ? 
What hand but Myra's could thy bloom revive ? 
Sweet lovely flower ! by that fair nymph caressed, 
Myron thrice welcome hails thee to his breast ; 
Here all thy verdure, all thy sweets display, 
Bloom while she smiles ; and when she frowns decay." 

It is not surprising that the episode of the 
jonquil was followed by other verses that com- 
plete the story, in which the Puritan divine 
shows decided human traits. Though calling 

himself 

" Fittest for a hermit's cell," 

he yet exclaimed : — 

" Now I know true happiness. 
For I come with thee to dwell." 

William White (1770- 1836), minister of the 
Church of England in Philadelphia before the 
Revolution and after it Bishop of Pennsyl- 
vania, has left a valuable historical record, in 
his " Memoirs of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in the United States of America," 
and of certain religious causes that influenced 
the separation of the colonies from England. 



68 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

The Church of England parishes in America 
before the Revolution were dependent, in many 
instances, entirely on the support of the So- 
ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel; and 
in their feeble condition appealed often to the 
Mother Church to have a bishop set over them, 
since without such Episcopal oversight there 
was no method of discipline, and young men 
seeking the ministry were compelled to cross 
the ocean for ordination. From New England 
and Virginia petitions were from time to time 
sent asking for an American bishop. These 
requests created much opposition in America, 
for the Puritans especially were strenuously 
opposed to the presence of such an ecclesiastic. 
Hot controversies raged over this question, 
started in the first instance by Jonathan May- 
hew, the vigorous and outspoken minister of 
Boston. Newspapers and pamphlets soon en- 
gaged in the controversy ; and pictures of a 
tyrannical and revenue-absorbing bishop ex- 
ercising jurisdiction in territory that was felt 
to be forever secure from such intrusion were 
painted in vivid colors. Many took alarm. 
Samuel Adams wrote in 1768 expressing the 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 69 

hope that "such an establishment will never 
take place in America. . . . The revenue raised 
in America for aught we can tell may be as 
constitutionally applied toward the support of 
prelacy as of soldiers and pensioners." When 
Archbishop Seeker answered, showing that if 
the English church should send a bishop there 
was no intention of making him other than a 
spiritual leader of his own people, there was 
the retort: "You see how we are cajoled. 
A colony bishop is to be a more innocent crea- 
ture than ever a bishop was since diocesan 
bishops were introduced to lord it over God's 
heritage. . . . The arrival of a bishop would 
raise them [the people] as much as any one 
thing." No bishop was sent, but the political 
ferment caused by the suggestion served to 
increase the bitterness between Britain and 
the colonies. As William White indicates, the 
failure to send a bishop to America was not 
due entirely to opposition from the colonies, 
but, as he says, "any ministry, who should 
have ventured on the measure, would have 
raised up against themselves the whole of the 
dissenting interest in England ; and the weight 



70 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

of that interest was more important to them, 
in their estimation, than the making of a party 
for the mother country in the colonies." As 
to the motives of both sides, William White 
justly says : "The Episcopal clergy disclaimed 
the designs and the expectations of which they 
were accused ; and as the same was done by 
their advocates on the other side of the water, 
particularly by the principal of them, the great 
and good Archbishop Seeker, they ought to 
be supposed to have had in view an Episcopacy 
purely religious. On the other hand, as their 
opponents laid aside their resistance of the 
religious part of it, as soon as American inde- 
pendence had done away with all political 
danger, if it existed, it ought to be believed 
that in their former professed apprehension 
they were sincere." 

The " Memoirs " relate in a most interest- 
ing way the method by which the author and 
Dr. Provoost, after the Revolution, went to 
England and were consecrated bishops in the 
chapel of Lambeth Palace on February 4, 1787. 
They were delightfully entertained by Arch- 
bishop Moore ; and John Adams, the Ameri- 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 71 

can Minister, forgetting his former prejudice, 
did all in his power to bring their mission 
to a successful issue, even suggesting that if 
they failed in securing their consecration from 
the English bishops, they might receive the 
same from the bishops in Denmark. 

The book is written in a spirit of fairness, 
and gives valuable papers relating to Amer- 
ican history in the "Appendix of original 
papers." Bishop White wrote many other 
books and pamphlets, principally dealing with 
religious topics. He was a friend of Washing- 
ton, Franklin, and Dr. Priestley, with whom 
he corresponded. Though a clergyman of the 
Church of England, when the Revolution broke 
out he was among the first to take the oath 
of allegiance to the new government. A gen- 
tleman standing by intimated by a gesture 
the danger he was exposing himself to. " I 
perceived by your gesture," he replied, "that 
you thought I was exposing my neck to great 
danger by the step which I have taken. But 
I have not taken it without full deliberation. 
I know my danger, and that it is greater on 
account of my being a clergyman of the Church 



•J2 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

of England. But I trust in Providence. The 
cause is a just one, and I am persuaded will 
be protected." He faithfully served as chap- 
lain of Congress and was always true to the 
American cause. As the venerable bishop of 
his diocese, he was beloved by all, at times 
showing unusual sympathy and courage ; when 
the Asiatic cholera claimed many victims in 
Philadelphia in 1832, he ministered to the sick 
and dying, regardless of any fear of contagion. 
The appreciation of the people was shown 
when his portrait was hung in Independence 
Hall by the side of Lafayette and Washington. 
One of the most voluminous of American 
writers was John Stephens Cabot Ab.bott 
( 1 805-1 877), who published over fifty books, 
on moral and religious subjects, but chiefly 
historical. He was a hard-working parish 
minister for many years, serving five different 
parishes, notably at Worcester, Roxbury, and 
New Haven. Almost from the first he began 
writing books in addition to the weekly sermon, 
the earliest being "The Mother at Home," in 
which, with a clergyman's insight into the 
need of moral training in the home, he wrote 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 73 

familiarly on the duties of motherhood in rela- 
tion to the children. This book was translated 
into many languages and was used freely by 
missionaries in their distant labors. His at- 
tention, however, was soon turned to historical 
subjects. Feeling that a knowledge of great 
men and deeds of our own land and of other 
countries was a stimulus to character, Abbott's 
aim was to popularize history by presenting in 
a readable form the important events in the 
lives of individuals and nations. He was not 
the erudite historian writing for scholars, but 
he had a mind for the picturesque and striking 
fact which might lodge in the people's thought 
through the simple medium of biographical 
stories, though he was also fond of quoting 
Lamartine's remark that "the impartiality of 
history is not like that of a mirror which 
merely reflects objects ; it should be that 
of a judge who sees, listens, and decides." 
His power of historical imagination, combined 
with a delicate moral sense, enabled him to 
write for the people, though his judgment was 
not always to be relied upon because of his 
prejudices. 



74 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

The method and extent of Abbott's literary- 
work is well shown in a letter which he wrote 
in 1870, and illustrates the regular habit of his 
life. " I have full charge of not a small par- 
ish," he said, "with all its pulpit and parochial 
labors ; it is a rule with me to prepare one new 
sermon every week. In addition to this I pre- 
pare a monthly article of twenty pages for 
Harper s Magazine, and am writing two books, 
one on the ' History of Louis XIV.,' and the 
other, the * History of the Christian Religion.' 
Last week I wrote the tenth chapter of this 
history. I have sent the first four chapters of 
the 'History of Louis XIV.' to Harpers, and 
have four other chapters completed." In this 
methodical way he produced those graphic 
accounts of pioneer life, " Kit Carson " and 
"Daniel Boone," and the valuable series of 
American pioneers and patriots, including 
"Ferdinand de Soto" and "Benjamin Frank- 
lin." His foreign histories were numerous, 
making in all a formidable list: "The Empire 
of Austria," " History of Frederick the Great," 
" History of Henry the Fourth, King of France 
and Navarre," " History of Josephine," " His- 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 75 

tory of Madame Roland," " History of Hernando 
Cortez," and many others of similar character. 
"The Romance of Spanish History" has al- 
ways been considered one of his best books. 
Among his American books must be mentioned 
the " Lives of the Presidents of the United 
States" and the "History of the Civil War." 
"The History of Napoleon" caused a good 
deal of controversy, because in dealing with the 
character of the Emperor he was greatly influ- 
enced by English prejudices and failed to enter 
with any sympathy either into Napoleon's mo- 
tives or accomplishments. The book has not 
the judicial fairness of the calm student. Cov- 
ering such a wide field of historical inquiry, it 
is not surprising that many of his books are at 
times superficial and run the risk of the popular 
writer of over-emphasizing dramatic details and 
neglecting the subtle play of cause and effect. 
Abbott was a strong anti-slavery man, as 
is seen in his pleasant book of travels, " South 
and North, or Impressions received during a 
Trip to Cuba and the South." But his most 
valuable contribution to the cause of freedom 
was the "History of the Civil War," published 



^6 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

contemporaneously with the war, comprising 
a full account of its origin and progress. In 
the earlier volumes it was most important to 
have an interpretation put upon the events of 
the conflict which would inspire men to uphold 
the Lincoln administration in the course that 
was being pursued ; and doubtless the many 
who read the book were led to continued 
efforts and were given a clearer thought of the 
reasons for the conflict. He taught that the 
war was a " conflict between aristocratic usurpa- 
tion and popular rights." In answer to the 
cry for peace and a willingness to let the 
South go, he exclaimed : " Better let the slave- 
holders go ! This is the dotage of amiability. 
There is not an intelligent man. North or South, 
who does not know that separation is eternal 
war. Who will fix the boundaries ? ... It is 
impossible for two different nations to live 
side by side. Either slavery must be dominant 
on the continent or freedom." 

Jacob Abbott, the brother of John Stephens 
Cabot Abbott, though better known as a teacher 
and writer for the young, was the author of 
many historical books of importance. His 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS jy 

occupation as a teacher doubtless first inter- 
ested him in juvenile literature, and his profes- 
sion as a minister led him to consider the best 
methods for moral training. The Rollo Books 
and the Lucy Books were widely read, and 
stimulated the minds of young people to seek 
knowledge and good living. Rollo at work, 
at play, on his vacations and travels, in his 
experiments and forming his museum, was a 
very real character to the children of a former 
generation. Rollo's philosophy and code of 
morals dealt with questions of daily ethics and 
inculcated excellent principles as a foundation 
for early manhood. Jacob Abbott's " Lecture 
on Moral Education" and "The Young Chris- 
tian " carried out the same general plan of en- 
forcing ethical training in addition to the 
education which consisted in the accumula- 
tion of facts. The books were all interesting 
because they explained principles by many 
illustrations and explanations, — the illustra- 
tions at times being too diffuse perhaps, and 
the applications were occasionally vague. The 
germ of later educational methods is to be dis- 
covered in them, but in their day they were 



78 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

valuable possessions for the children, and aids 
to those who had to teach. Juvenile literature 
is by no means an insignificant part of general 
literature because of its influence at a formative 
stage of life ; and those, like Jacob Abbott, 
who seized upon it as a medium for reach- 
ing the young in a bright and wholesome 
way, have contributed to the well-being of 
society. 

The historical books of Jacob Abbott were 
written as much with the object of instruction 
as the desire to find the truth. They therefore 
bear the marks of the schoolmaster, and can 
hardly be called independent researches, though 
they are always accurate, full, and entertaining. 
The "History of Cyrus the Great" and the 
"History of Alexander the Great" are much 
more than school books. They draw upon origi- 
nal sources of information, and present the lives 
of these kings in the true historical setting, 
with a vast amount of picturesque detail. The 
" History of King Richard the Third of Eng- 
land," " History of Mary Queen of Scots," 
" History of Queen Elizabeth," and " History of 
Peter the Great " in different ways illustrate 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 79 

the same painstaking care, and create a vivid 
impression of the characters described. In the 
account of Peter the Great the relations between 
the Czar and his son Alexis are very dramati- 
cally told, and when the dissolute youth is led 
to conspire against the throne and finally cap- 
tured and condemned to death, the forgiveness 
of the father is brought out in strong contrast 
to the viciousness of the son. In the same 
general style, but with more completeness, the 
series of American Histories, containing accounts 
in separate volumes of the discovery of America, 
the Southern and Northern colonies, the two 
colonial wars, and the revolt of the colonies, is a 
presentation of facts with an examination into 
causes and effects. The schoolmaster and the 
moralist are perhaps too much in evidence to 
make the books more than handbooks and com- 
pendiums, though there are often many passages, 
especially in setting forth the principles of gov- 
ernment and the differences between European 
and American ideas, that suggest the accom- 
plished historian. The quality of the books, 
however, was determined by the author's aim to 
make the work " useful to the young in awaken- 



So THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

ing in their minds an interest in the history of 
their country." A good object, no doubt ; and 
one must not complain if the adult reader does 
not always find that largeness of view and rapid 
character sketching which lend a charm to the 
historian's craft. On the other hand, the 
thoughtful student will have enjoyment in 
reading Jacob Abbott's " New England and 
her Institutions," where, with humor and anec- 
dote, the story of the social life and institu- 
tions that are passing away is told with the 
freshness of personal knowledge and reminis- 
cence. 

It is not with entire justice to his career 
that John Graham Palfrey (i 796-1881) can 
be included among the clerical historians. It 
is true that he was at one time a minister in 
the Unitarian church, and professor of Sacred 
Literature in Harvard, and Dean of the Theo- 
logical Faculty, but his subsequent career as 
a member of Congress, Secretary of State of 
Massachusetts, and postmaster of Boston, was 
so different from his earlier life, that it is diffi- 
cult to associate him with the ministerial pro- 
fession. However, he has left many important 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 8 1 

sermons ; and the books on the " Elements of 
Chaldee" and "Relation between Judaism and 
Christianity " are a sufficient reminder of a 
ministry of some importance. His " Papers on 
the Slave Power," and speeches on the " Politi- 
cal Aspect of the Slave Question " delivered 
in Congress and widely read, indicated that the 
same lofty morality that he preached from 
the pulpit did not desert him when he entered 
the political arena. As a historian, especially 
in his " History of New England," he stands 
easily first among those of the clergy who 
have written history. The accuracy of his 
knowledge, the justice of his opinions, and the 
pictorial effects of his work, were such that 
Lowell was moved to say of his " History of 
New England " that " it is little to say that his 
work is the only one of its kind. He has done 
it so well, that it is likely to remain so;" and 
commenting on him as a historian, Lowell 
adds, " Patient, thoughtful, exact, and with 
those sensitive moral sympathies which are 
worth more than all else to a historian, he has 
added to our stock of truth, and has helped us 
in the way of right thinking." 



82 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Octavius Brooks Frothingham (i 822-1 895), 
as the historian of Transcendentalism and the 
biographer of Theodore Parker, George Ripley, 
and William Henry Channing, has a place in 
the list of clerical historians. He was a suc- 
cessful preacher to a large congregation in 
Masonic Hall, New York City, and a man 
deeply interested in the spread of liberal 
theology ; but literature claimed his most 
serious work, in which he was an indefati- 
gable student and preacher. The " History of 
Transcendentalism in New England" is an 
authoritative account of the historical move- 
ments that preceded the rise in New Eng- 
land of the philosophy that came to its flower 
in Emerson and found an interpreter in Theo- 
dore Parker and the more liberal wing of 
Unitarianism. One will have to look far for 
a better or more appreciative analysis of the 
thought and character of Emerson than that 
given by Frothingham. The " Life of George 
Ripley" is a model of careful biography, and 
contains, besides, one of the best brief descrip- 
tions to be found anywhere of "Brook Farm." 
The most apparent fault of his style is perhaps 



EARLY WRITERS AND HISTORIANS 83 

the lack of a sense of proportion, and the 
exaggeration of the importance of details, which, 
however, often explain and make more vivid 
the persons and events about which he is 
writing. 



CHAPTER III 



POETRY AND ROMANCE 



From the accurate statement of facts and 
the record of past history, the clergyman often 
turned to the more imaginative and lighter 
literary forms of expression in sonnet, ballad, 
and even the measured lines of the epic. 
Poetic ability is sometimes discerned in the illus- 
trations and similes used in the sermon, but 
there it was necessarily limited in scope and 
force ; and, struggling to embody itself in the 
recognized methods of verse, it often sang its 
way into a quatrain or a hymn. The clergy 
have always been fond of the poets, storing 
up a phrase or a couplet to lend greater beauty 
and power to the truth which they have set 
forth. Horace and Milton were read, not 
only with the interest of the teacher, but 
because of a message to the imagination, which 
loosed the play of fancy and created a music 
84. 



POETRY AND ROMANCE 85 

within, seeking an outlet in verse. There 
have been many of the clergy who, in moments 
of special feeling, or to commemorate impor- 
tant events, to stir up patriotism, or to aid in 
worship, have written lines that bear within 
them the human emotions of passion, devotion, 
and reverence. Timothy Dwight joined the 
band of poets by writing odes and songs, as 
well as the ambitious epics, " The Conquest of 
Canaan " and " Greenfield Hill." John Pier- 
pont by his " Airs of Palestine " and anti- 
slavery verses entered into the sacred company. 
Rufus Wilmot Griswold, by his book of poems, 
but more especially by his contributions to 
the study of poetry in his " Poets and Poetry 
of America " and " Female Poets of America," 
rendered service to the cause. William Cros- 
well, George Washington Doane, Robert Traill 
Spence Lowell, Abram Joseph Ryan, and 
Arthur Cleveland Coxe, all laid their tribute 
of verse at the shrine of the muses. 

John Pierpont (1785-1866), sometime minis- 
ter of Hollis Street Church, Boston, was so 
great a reformer in matters of temperance and 
slavery, that the parish concluded to have 



I 



86 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

milder sermons and less pronounced opinions, 
and were more than willing to sever the con- 
nection between people and pastor. After 
serving various other churches, he became a 
chaplain of the Twenty-second Massachusetts 
Regiment, and went with it to Virginia. Dur- 
ing a long life he was always ready with his 
pen when special events needed to be cele- 
brated by the poet. At ordinations, dedication 
of churches, charity and temperance occasions, 1 
and funerals, as well as more formal celebra- 
tions, he made interesting contributions in 
verse which were afterward collected into vol- 
umes, one of which was the "Airs of Pales- 
tine." Pierpont's rule of action was laid down 
in a celebrated sermon having as a title, "A 
Moral Rule of Political Action," and it was, 
in a word, summed up in the statement that 
" When my party run away from morality, 
they run away from me." His estimate of 
Channing shows how his life and thought had 
been influenced by the great preacher: "In 
his love and labors for humanity," he wrote, 
" in his exalted conceptions of the dignity of 
our nature, and the nobleness of our destiny, 



POETRY AND ROMANCE 8/ 

in his forgetfulness of interests that are merely 
local and temporar)^, Dr. Channing has bound 
himself to the heart of man." 

These conceptions of absolute morality and 
nobleness of human nature appear in Pier- 
pont's verse, as they find a place in the ex- 
pressed object of his poetry, which he states 
to be "to rebuke high-handed or under-handed 
wrong, or to keep alive the fires of civil and 
religious liberty." The seriousness of his 
strain comes out in the poem read before 
the New England Society in 1855, when he 
exclaimed : — 

" Sons of the Pilgrims ! Need ye to be told 
It takes ' perpetual shoulders ' to uphold 
The exceeding weight of glory that is theirs, 
And prove your title as your fathers' heirs ? " 

More stirring are the lines written for the 
laying of the corner-stone of Bunker Hill 
monument, June 17, 1825, when the poet 
makes Warren address his soldiers in words 
familiar to the schoolboys of two generations. 

" In the God of battles trust! 
Die we may, — and die we must ; — 
But, O, where can dust to dust 



88 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Be consigned so well, 
As where Heaven its dews shall shed 
On the martyred patriot's bed, 
And the rocks shall raise their heads, 

Of his deeds to tell!" 

" The Fugitive Slave's Apostrophe to the 
North Star" is a poetical relic charged with 
the spirit of contemporary rhetoric and with 
Pierpont's hatred for the slave power and the 
government that upheld it : — 

" At slavery's beck, the very hands 
Ye lift to Heaven to swear ye're free, 
Will break a truce to seize the lands 

Of Seminole or Cherokee! 
Yea — tear 2.JIag, that Tartar hordes 
Respect and shield it with their swords." 

In the " Airs of Palestine " the author turns 
to the Hebrew lyre. There is a sweetness 
and charm about the Judean melody that 
often suggests Bishop Heber's verses. The 
poem is not without effective lines. Pierpont's 
work on the whole has intensity and smooth- 
ness without the art or music to make it great, 
but there is melody and tone in some of it 
which places him in the company of our earlier 
poets. 



POETRY AND ROMANCE 89 

William Croswell (1804-185 1) was the rector 
of old Christ Church, Boston, from the steeple 
of which the lanterns gave warning to Paul 
Revere, and founder of the Church of the Ad- 
vent. He was by nature delicate and refined, 
capable of deep feeling, warm in his friendships, 
and devoted to his church. The order and dig- 
nity of the Episcopal services with the recurring 
anniversaries of the church year ever impressed 
him, and he could not help putting into verse 
his appreciation and religious emotions. Poetry 
to him was the occasional feast when he al- 
lowed himself to give way to the song and joy 
in his heart. He felt the spell of the arch 
and aisle and altar of the Christian church as 
George Herbert felt it ; and as Keble set to 
music the teachings of the church seasons, so 
he welcomed the holy day or the saint's festival 
with a poem of gratitude. He was thus almost 
entirely a religious poet, humble with reverence 
and earnest in worship. The battle-song and 
call to the active duty of the day in the out- 
ward struggle of men are absent from the medi- 
tations of the priest, but there are hymns of 
praise, and odes to mark friendships, and rec- 



90 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

ords of experiences of the soul. The poems 
are so simple often, and without enough elabo- 
ration to take away a certain roughness at 
times, that they conceal for the moment the 
serene and hopeful spirit within them. He 
was so shy that after having written his vale- 
dictory sonnet he was led back again to the art 
only when Mrs. Sigourney addressed him in 
appealing tones : — 

"Minstrel return ! Resume the hallowed strain ; 
Repent thee of thy sin, and woo Heaven's harp again." 

The little book of Dr. Croswell's verses col- 
lected after his death is called " Poems Sacred 
and Secular," It contains, however, more of 
the sacred than of the secular, though there are 
humor and sprightly rhymes enough to justify 
the name. Christmas and Advent, Easter and 
Whitsunday, are celebrated by carols and medi- 
tations. Holly berries and lilies form parts of 
many pictures that grow under the poet's touch, 
as he sings of Christmas : — 

" When white-robed altars, wreathed in living green, 
Adorn the temples." 



POETRY AND ROMANCE 9 1 

The series of thirty-four sonnets is the most 
striking part of the collection. The sonnets 
are not always in perfect form as regards the 
Italian model of rhyme or arrangement of 
octave and sestette. Many of them are good ; 
a few are excellent, of which number must be 
counted "Saint Luke" : — 

" Blessed Physician ! from thy ancient scroll 
Can we not draw some wholesome medicine 
To heal the heart that sickens with its sin, 

And cure the deep distemper of the soul ? 

Is there no balm in Gilead, to make whole 
The bruised and broken spirit, and within 
The bleeding bosom stanch the wound and win 

The stubborn malady to its control ? " 

In "The Ordinal " and " Hymns of the Ancient 
Time " there is a beautiful spirit of consecration 
and prayer. Of another kind are such poems as 
"The Chapel Bell, Yale College" and "Na- 
hant," the one a rollicking undergraduate's 
doggerel and the other a half-satirical descrip- 
tive fragment. The description of Nahant 
must have been written before it became a 
fashionable summer resort : — 

"Rocks, sands, and seas, 
What charms hast thou but these, 



92 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

O desolate Nahant ! 
Rocks, sands, and seas, 
Twelve grotesque cottages, 
And six storm-beaten trees, 

Struck all aslant ! " 

Robert Traill Spence Lowell (1816-1891), a 
brother of James Russell Lowell, might have 
been known more generally as a poet if his 
famous brother had stuck to prose. As it is, 
Robert Lowell is credited with some books of 
note in the line of fiction, history, and the short 
story. His reputation was first won by "The 
New Priest in Conception Bay " and sustained 
by " Antony Brade " and " A Story or Two 
from an Old Dutch Town," but his volume of 
poems may be remembered the longest. Dr. 
Lowell was for some years a minister of the 
Church of England at Bay Roberts, Newfound- 
land, and later the Master of St. Mark's School, 
Southborough, and professor of Latin in Union 
College. Classical tastes and scholarship are 
evident in his poetry, as also the inspiration 
from the rugged shores of Newfoundland. The 
language of the verses is often vigorous, and 
their conception original. Of his island home 
he sings : — 



POETRY AND ROMANCE 93 

" O rugged land ! 
Land of the rock moss ! 
Land whose drear barrens it is woe to cross, 
Thou rough thing from God's hand ! " 

In "The Delphian Children," the motive of 
the theme is Greek. Parnassus looms up, 
wrapped in wondrous clouds, and Pythian 
garlands strew the way, and 

" Flowers that when thou art dead 
Will ever be the same." 

Religious feeling expresses itself in the reflec- 
tive poems, " The Pitying Christ " and " Dirge 
to a Soul Departing." "The Painter's Proba- 
tion " has force and lines of strength : — 

" There comes in life a frequent hour. 

When the full voice of Fate 
Calls with a dread, mysterious power, 

On those who should be great ; 
To warn them that a mighty dower 

Somewhere for them doth wait." 

Of ballads there are many that have a pleasant 
swing, like " The Brave Old Ship, the Orient," 
"The Burger's Lenore," and "The Men of the 
Cumberland." "The Relief of Lucknow" is 
well sustained and dramatic when the fever- 



94 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Stricken lassie hears the distant slogan of the 

relief army before any of the garrison, and cries 

aloud, 

" The Highlanders I oh ! dinna ye hear 
The slogan far awa' ? 
The McGregor's ? Ah ! I ken it weel ; 
It's the grandest o' them a'." 

During the Civil War Dr. Lowell wrote 
many songs to inspire the people to carry on 
what he considered holy warfare. Though a 
man of peace he felt the sacredness of the 
cause and the duty of maintaining the Union, 
but his prayer was constant that the baser mo- 
tives might be absent. 

Of poems written on the Southern side, 
there are good illustrations among those of 
Abram Joseph Ryan (1839- 1886), the Roman 
Catholic priest, who was a chaplain in the Con- 
federate army. Father Ryan wrote verses of 
a religious character, but his heart was in the 
South ; and during the war, and immediately 
after it, he printed many poems which became 
popular. These were collected in the volume, 
" Poems, Patriotic, Religious, and Miscellane- 
ous." They are musical and show great inten- 



POETRY AND ROMANCE 95 

sity of feeling. The modesty and simplicity of 
the author are revealed when he says, " Souls 
were always more to him than songs. . . . But 
still somehow — and he could not tell why — he 
sometimes tried to sing." " The Sword of Lee " 
was one of the best known of the poems : — 

" Out of its scabbard where, full long. 

It slumbered peacefully, 
Roused from its rest by the battle's song, 
Shielding the feeble, smiting the strong, 
Guarding the right, avenging the wrong. 

Gleamed the sword of Lee." 

After the defeat came "The Conquered Ban- 
ner," which pathetically mourned over the for- 
tunes of war, and sang a dirge over the fallen 
standard : — 

"Furl that Banner, softly, slowly! 
Treat it gently — it is holy — 

For it droops above the dead. 
Touch it not — unfold it never, 
Let it droop there, furled forever, 

For its people's hopes are dead." 

Among Father Ryan's verses are those that 
interpret the doctrines and ritual of his church. 
They enter deeply into the spirit of worship, 
and have about them a touch of imagination 



96 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

and mysticism. The " Feast of the Sacred 
Heart " is a tender appreciation of the sacra- 
ment, and expresses the reverence felt by the 
believer : — 

''A silence falls on the altar — 
An awe on each bended face — 
For the Heart that bled on Calvary 
Still beats in the holy place." 

Rome, as the centre and symbol of ecclesias- 
tical power, becomes to the poet the centre of 
the world : — 

"Beyond the Tiber gleams a dome 
Above the hill-tops seven : 
It arches o'er the world from Rome, 
And leads the world to Heaven." 

Ireland, almost as much as the church, claims 
the devotion of the priest, who suffers under 
the wrongs of his native country, and longs for 
its release. The flag of Erin becomes to him 
a national ensign, and there cluster about it 
the desires of a people for their independence. 
The fervor of struggle and the passion of 
unattained hopes are felt in many of Father 
Ryan's poems. 

American hymnology has not been thoroughly 



POETRY AND ROMANCE 97 

studied, but enough is known to justify the 
assertion that this branch of poetry has been 
largely cultivated among the clergy of all de- 
nominations. The writing of hymns was of a 
comparatively late date in America, because of 
the hostility in some of the churches to the use 
even of metrical versions of the Psalms. The 
psalmody question divided one church, the Pres- 
byterian, many opposing the use of Watts' version 
of the Psalms and preferring the Scotch psalter. 
The introduction of a musical accompaniment was 
not an easy victory on the part of those who 
wished to substitute something more varied than 
the traditional five tunes of Puritan worship. 
When an organ was placed in King's Chapel, 
Boston, it was considered by many to be un- 
godly and frivolous ; and sarcastic pamphlets 
asked, " How inspired was the music of the 
primitive Christians compared with what is now 
used in most of our churches .■• The organs 
charm the ear, they ravish the heart, and carry 
the souls of the churchmen in rapture to 
heaven." 

Another reason that retarded the growth of 
American hymnology was the wealth of English 



98 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

hymns that could be used in the collections 
for the different churches. Notwithstanding 
these facts, there has been a very marked de- 
velopment in the writing of hymns, and among 
those used in the churches, more than a seventh 
probably are of American origin; of these Mr. 
Stedman remarks that "the religious verse of 
America, whether the work of poets at large or 
of those whose range is chiefly confined to it, 
ranks in quality if not in quantity with the 
hymnology of other lands." 

The hymn that wins its way by the directness 
of its purpose, its simplicity, and strength of 
idea and rendering, is a powerful teacher. As 
a missionary it is far more effective than the 
sermon, because it sinks deeply into the mem- 
ory, and may become, by one's voluntary act 
of singing it, a living thing. The genuinely 
famous hymns, those that have found their way 
into other lands, are not numerous, but they are 
the flower of American hymnology. As litera- 
ture they have a vital quality about them which 
gives them a much greater influence than many 
a longer and more ambitious poem. The con- 
tribution of a song or a hymn to the national 



POETRY AND ROMANCE 99 

life is one of the surest paths to literary immor- 
tality, because patriotism and religion are uni- 
versal elements. Among these hymns that are 
used by churches everywhere are, " My faith 
looks up to Thee," by Ray Palmer; "Stand up, 
stand up for Jesus," by George Duffield ; "I 
would not live alway," by William Augustus Muh- 
lenberg ; George Washington Doane's " Softly 
now the light of day" and "Fling out the ban- 
ner"; John Leland's "The day is past and 
gone"; "Lord, lead the way the Saviour went," 
of William Croswell ; Edmund Hamilton Sears's 
" Calm on the listening ear of night " ; and 
"My Country, 'tis of thee" and "The morn- 
ing light is breaking," by Samuel Francis 
Smith. 

Among most of the denominations, the 
clergy, inspired by the genius of the different 
institutions, have provided hymns which are 
used in their services. Those peculiar to the 
special church are used exclusively by that 
church, and were written to express certain 
doctrines for which the religious body stands. 
It thus comes about that there are various 
types of hymnology that have grown up in the 



ICX) THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

churches, — each has its own familiar names of 
hymn writers. 

The Quakers, to be sure, are without hymns. 
A story is told of an enterprising Boston firm 
of publishers that, having learned that there 
was no Quaker hymn-book, they forthwith 
began to collect the material for what seemed 
to be a good opening. They were dismayed 
when they learned that the Quakers never 
sing. Among the Presbyterian hymn writers 
must be mentioned Samuel Davies, President 
of Princeton, Thomas Hastings, professor of 
Sacred Rhetoric in Union Theological Semi- 
nary, and Philip Schaff, the church historian. 
In addition to Mather Byles and Timothy 
Dwight, the Congregationalist hymn writers 
include such men as Thomas Hopkins Gal- 
laudet, the beginner of deaf-mute instruction 
in America, John Brainard, the missionary to 
the Indians, Ray Palmer, and Leonard Bacon. 
The Episcopal church numbers among its 
sacred-song writers Alexander Viets Griswold, 
Bishop of Massachusetts, William Augustus 
Muhlenberg, George Washington Doane, 
Bishop of New Jersey, George Burgess, Bishop 



POETRY AND ROMANCE lOI 

of Maine, Edward Abiel Washburn, and Ar- 
thur Cleveland Coxe, Bishop of Western New 
York. The Unitarians have many brilliant 
writers of hymns : Henry Ware, Jr., Fred- 
erick Henry Hedge, Edmund Hamilton Sears, 
Chandler Robbins, and Samuel Longfellow, 
the brother and biographer of the poet Long- 
fellow. Among the Methodist contributors to 
American hymnology are Thomas Hewlings 
Stockton, William Hunter, and Thomas Os- 
mond Summers. The Baptist hymn writers 
include the names of Thomas Baldwin, Adoni- 
ram Judson, John Newton Brown, and George 
Barton Ide ; and among the Universalists must 
be mentioned George Richards, Hosea Ballou, 
Abner Kneeland, and Edwin Hubbell Chapin. 
These writers, in the main, bear the marks 
of the doctrines and history of their special 
churches. The Presbyterian reflects the stern 
doctrines of the Westminster Confession, the 
Congregationalist manages to set his Calvinism 
to music, the Episcopalian is interested in the 
institution and the Church Year, the Unitarian 
is under the sway of Transcendentalism, the 
Methodist and Baptist are inspired by the 



I02 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

emotional needs of the revival, and the Uni- 
versalist sets forth his doctrines in long and 
short metre. Among the large number of 
American hymns it is natural that many should 
be of an ephemeral character, being more of the 
nature of sacred songs than genuine hymns, 
without much poetic quality ; but there are 
marked exceptions, and the list of hymns hav- 
ing in them universal religious elements is 
by no means small. They are worthy to be 
classed with the Christian hymns of any age. 
Among the writers of fiction in America, the 
clergy have had representatives, though none of 
them attained the same reputation for literary 
skill and scholarship as Charles Kingsley in 
England. The novels of Sylvester Judd, Will- 
iam Ware, Robert Lowell, Henry Ward Beecher, 
and Edward Payson Roe were widely read in 
their day, and are by no means without strong 
sketches of character, well-ordered plots, scenes 
of beauty, discussions of important religious and 
social questions, often with genuineness of 
moral feeling. The " Margaret " of Judd, the 
" Zenobia " of Ware, the " New Priest in Con- 
ception Bay" of Lowell, "Norwood" by Beecher, 



POETRY AND ROMANCE IO3 

and " Barriers Burned Away " and " What Can 
She Do ? " by Roe have a rightful place in 
American letters. 

Sylvester Judd (1813-1853) was a lecturer 
and author, serving, however, for the greater 
part of his life, as minister of the Unitarian 
church in Augusta, Maine. He was a man of 
strong convictions, • and being influenced by 
Channing and later by Transcendentalism, gave 
voice to the spiritual aspirations and freedom of 
the new movement in his eagerness for an 
abundant life of thought and feeling. He saw 
keenly the difference between the old life of 
New England with its crystallized customs and 
dogmas, and the new time of growth and recon- 
struction. The struggle between the two he 
felt to be vital ; and while he, and others, fought 
the battle through sermons and treatises, he 
tried to aid the cause by works of fiction which 
might reach out in directions not touched by 
the more formal methods. " Margaret " and 
"Richard Edney and the Governor's Family" 
were his two novels, while in " Philo : an 
Evangeliad," a didactic poem, he defended the 
Unitarian position, as he did in " The Church ; 



104 ^^^ CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

in a series of Discourses." Of these books 
" Margaret " is by far the most significant, and 
contains passages of great beauty, the full title 
being, " Margaret : a Tale of the Real and 
Ideal, Blight and Bloom ; including sketches of 
a place not before described, called Mons 
Christi." The book is a loosely constructed 
story of New England life between the periods 
of the Revolution and the more stable condition 
of the Republic. Margaret, a child of nature, 
sensitive and mystical, grows out of her crude 
and narrow surroundings into a woman of wide 
vision, of faith, and philanthropy. The direct 
contact with nature and the soul of all things 
reveals to her the beauties of the inner life and 
the spiritual interpretation to be put upon human 
living. She has her dreams and ecstasies and 
revolts ; and at the end tries to realize a Utopia 
where men can live in happiness without intem- 
perance, capital punishment, or war. In the 
suggested system of festivals to be observed by 
the community, Margaret anticipates " Ai'bor 
Day," when flowers and trees arc to be planted. 
She is reared in the home of drunken Pluck and 
his satirical wife, Brown Moll ; and from the 



POETRY AND ROMANCE 10$ 

companionship of many of the village charac- 
ters, the mysterious infidel Rose, Deacon 
Ramsdill, Parson Wells and his wife, and 
Evelyn, she passes through many outward and 
inward experiences until she becomes the aes- 
thetic and educational inspiration of the commu- 
nity, though the imaginary Mons Christi, with 
its symbolic avenues and temples, remains in 
the realm of the ideal. 

The greatest interest of " Margaret," how- 
ever, is not so much in the book as a whole as 
in special scenes and descriptions of nature. 
In these, Sylvester Judd writes with the insight 
of the mystic and the poet. As the soul in its 
own strength essays to know Deity through 
the appeals of nature to the physical senses, so 
Margaret enters into communion with the spirit 
of nature through the signs and symbols of 
forest, glade, stream, clouds, and sunsets. " She 
sat there alone," Judd writes of Margaret sit- 
ting under the open sky, "with no eye but 
God's to look upon her ; He alone saw her face, 
her expression, in that still, warm, golden sun- 
setting ; she sat as if for her the sun had gone 
down and the sky unloosed its glory; she sat 



I06 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

mute and undisturbed as if she were the child- 
queen of this great pageant of nature." The 
famous description of a snowstorm has in it 
elements of delicacy and power, in the contrast 
between the winter night, with the wind and 
storm, and the housed family reading and mak- 
ing music about the glowing hearth. Margaret, 
going out in the morning, entered the thick 
woods, and " saw the deep, unalloyed beauty 
of the season : the large moist flakes that fell 
in the morning had furred and mossed every 
limb and twig, each minute process and fila- 
ment, each aglet and thread, as if the pure 
spirits of the air had undertaken to frost the 
trees for the marriage festival of their prince. 
The slender white birches, with silver bark and 
ebon bough, that grew along the path, were 
bent over ; their arms met intertwiningly, and 
thus was formed a perfect arch, voluptuous, 
dreamlike, glittering, under which she went." 
William Ware (i 797-1 852), a Unitarian min- 
ister, after preaching in New York and else- 
where, gave up the active labors of his profes- 
sion and devoted himself mainly to literature, 
writing often for the Knickerbocker Magazine, 



POETRY AND ROMANCE 10/ 

and producing books of more than temporary 
value. Ware had the artistic temperament 
ever seeking an outlet for itself in drawing, or 
the study of art, or the writing of novels. As 
Dr. Bellows says in his memorial sermon, 
"Beauty was the innocent idol of his soul. His 
mind was a gallery of pictures." William 
Ware's " Lectures on the Works and Genius of 
Washington Allston " reveal this intense inter- 
est in art, and indicate a sensitive mind quick to 
appreciate beauty in color and form, together 
with a large knowledge of historical and con- 
temporary art. He put into literary form and 
analysis the popular appreciation of Allston's 
work, marking the painter's characteristics as 
the colorist, the man who is conscientious and 
religious in a true sense, yet limited when 
drawing the human face, and attempting the 
sublime, which he did not always reach. Per- 
haps Ware's comparison between Allston and 
Titian may seem eccentric as he says, " In the 
great Venetian I have found nothing more true, 
nothing more beautiful, nothing more perfect 
than I have seen in Allston ; " but no one 
would deny the beauty of color and conception 



lOS THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

in Allston's "Jeremiah," "The Valentine," 
"The Spanish Girl," and "Belshazzar." In the 
criticism of Allston's work there is a very just 
recognition of his earnestness and purity of 
motive, when it is pointed out that he made his 
pictures because he loved and honored his art 
on its own account : " because through it, as a 
medium, he could express himself in the best 
way possible to him ; because in this manner 
only could he reveal to others his conception of 
the beautiful, the grand, the divine." 

Of Ware's novels the principal ones were 
" Letters from Palmyra," sometimes called 
"Zenobia," " Probus," and "Julian, or Scenes 
in Judea." In conception, they were the fore- 
runners of such novels as " Ben Hur " and 
" Quo Vadis " ; they dealt mainly with the early 
Christian period and portrayed the life in Pales- 
tine when the New Testament characters were 
making religious history. "Julian" is in the 
form of letters written from Judea immediately 
preceding and during the public ministry 'of 
Jesus. Though many of the scenes are ficti- 
tious, the care and scholarship of the author are 
shown in the accuracy of such details as places, 



POETRY AND ROMANCE IO9 

political movements, and historical personages. 
The plot moves from Csesarea to Jerusalem ; 
and Julian, the young Roman Jew, takes part 
in the discussions and riots caused by the Mes- 
sianic expectations of the people. The descrip- 
tions are often vivid, and the character study is 
not without ability. Pilate appears, holding a 
court in Caesarea : " The aspect of this man is 
cold and dark. His countenance is bloodless, 
his eyes restless, near together, and set deep 
beneath his brews, which are straight and 
black." The only direct presentation of Jesus 
is in the triumphal entrance into the city of 
Jerusalem. The whole story ends with the 
crucifixion and the despair of the disciples. 

By far the most voluminous and popular of 
the clerical novelists was Edward Payson Roe 
( 1 838-1 888). Matthew Arnold once wrote sar- 
castically about him, saying, "The Western 
states are at this moment being nourished 
and formed, we hear, on the novels of a native 
author called Roe." Many were certainly nour- 
ished on Roe's novels, for they were phenome- 
nally successful from the publishers' standpoint 
of rapid sales; and in spite of Mr, Arnold they 



no THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

were read almost as much in England as in 
America. Though many American critics 
could not take Roe's art seriously, he was 
stoutly defended by George Ripley. 

Roe was a graduate of Williams College, an 
army chaplain during the Civil War, and min- 
ister of a Presbyterian church in Highland 
Falls, New York, until he changed his resi- 
dence to Cornwall-on-the-Hudson. His first 
story was occasioned by the great Chicago fire 
of 1871, and was called "Barriers Burned 
Away." It contains many excellent accounts 
of the fire, for the author, being present during 
part of it, set down what he saw. Other 
stories, nineteen in all, followed, the most 
noted being " What Can She Do > " " The Open- 
ing of a Chestnut Burr," "A Face Illumined," 
"The Earth Trembled," "Nature's Serial 
Story," "Near to Nature's Heart," and "His 
Sombre Rivals." The books were all written 
with a moral purpose, — to instil into the 
popular mind the ideals of right living. This 
was done by presenting daily experiences and 
familiar types of character, dealing with prob- 
lems of moral significance. This preaching 



POETRY AND ROMANCE m 

through the novel was condemned by the 
critics, as was the commonplace artificiality 
of some of the books. There is no doubt 
that the novels of Roe can be easily attacked 
on the grounds of loose construction, mawkish 
situations, unreality, and exaggeration, but they 
cannot be entirely dismissed with such cavalier 
treatment. Roe was conscious of his short- 
comings, but he wisely said, "The only thing 
for a writer is to be himself and take the con- 
sequences." The books set many people to 
thinking, and by presenting real life in the 
form of interesting problems, disguised as 
stories, he wrought for an excellent end. Such 
a book as " What Can She Do .-' " undoubtedly 
aided in the movement for an educated and 
capable womanhood, able to look out for itself 
in trials of a severe nature. This was the pur- 
pose of Roe in writing it. "This book was 
not written," he says, "to amuse, to create 
purposeless excitement, or to secure a little 
praise as a bit of artistic work. It would 
probably fail in all these things. ... If I in 
my little sphere can by this book lead one 
father to train his children to be more strong 



112 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

and self-reliant, one mother to teach her daugh- 
ters a purer, more patient, more heroic woman- 
hood, ... I shall be well rewarded." Certainly 
the struggles of the self-indulgent daughters of 
Mr. Allen, after his failure and death, to gain 
a respectable living, must have awakened many 
to the dangers lying in the path of young 
women who have not been trained to the 
practical duties of life. "A Face Illumined" 
had in it a lesson for beauty with a sleeping 
soul ; and the illuminating of the features by 
the calling out of a nobler spirit is told with 
something like art. "Near to Nature's Heart" 
is a story of the American Revolution. In 
" His Sombre Rival " there is an excellent 
account of the battle of Bull Run. 



CHAPTER IV 

DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 

"How can I live in a country," Dr. Bol- 
linger once said, "where they found a new 
church every day ? " According to statistics, 
the number of the separate churches and sec- 
tarian bodies is large ; but there has been, how- 
ever, a decided tendency in America to the 
centralization of religious life into great de- 
nominational families, and these, with different 
histories and trend, have produced denomina- 
tional literature characteristic of each. Most 
of this work is purely local, though occasion- 
ally a book has been produced of more general 
interest. The Methodists, the Baptists, the 
Presbyterians, the Roman Catholics, the Con- 
gregationalists, and Unitarians, Episcopalians, 
Lutherans, and Universalists, have favorite 
writers whose books are read within the de- 
nomination and mould its intellectual life. 
I 113 



114 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

The great Methodist movement in America 
was an appeal from "the theology of the 
intellect to the theology of the feelings." It 
produced more conversions than books when 
Asbury, Coke, and Garrettson gave their 
message to the aroused soul, feeling an inward 
change, and illuminated by the " Inner Light," 
which the Quakers felt but did not use so 
effectively. The story of early Methodism is 
the record of journeys. It was said that As- 
bury, during his long ministry, rode a dis- 
tance that would have taken him twelve times 
around the world, with the object, so strik- 
ingly expressed on Philip Embury's tomb, ** to 
beautify the earth with salvation." "Lowly 
preaching " was the protest against aristocratic 
pride of institution. The Methodists laid little 
stress on dogmatic distinctions, and in the early 
days cared nothing for a knowledge of Latin 
and Greek. Their exhortations were to the 
spiritual natures of men, and whatever doc- 
trines lay behind their appeal were restate- 
ments of scriptural phrases in homely dialect. 

The contributions of Methodism to scientific 
theology have not been numerous, but they 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 115 

have given to American life many picturesque 
and rugged characters that grew up from the 
soil, full of color, with the vigor of the prairies 
and the forests, examples of devotion from the 
plain people of the land. And there are books 
that reflect this primitive life in a simple 
way. Peter Cartwright (i 785-1 872), called the 
" Backwoods Preacher," during a long ministry 
in Kentucky, Tennessee, and forty-five years 
in the Illinois Conference, has given, in his 
two books, "Fifty Years a Presiding Elder" 
and "Autobiography of Peter Cartwright," a 
vivid account of pioneer life and the success 
of itinerant preaching. He was unconventional 
and brusque, but earnest, it being told that he 
once knocked a man down because he was 
inattentive. A type of the scholarly Method- 
ist is to be seen in Wilbur Fiske (i 792-1 839), 
who studied law first, and then became a 
preacher, being chosen later the first President 
of Wesley an University. He was an admin- 
istrator of ability, with a wise appreciation of 
the value of education. His career as a col- 
lege president was most successful, and he 
gave an impetus to that movement, which has 



Il6 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

been so fruitful among the Methodists, of 
founding educational institutions. His books 
indicate his attainments and scholarship : " The 
Calvinistic Controversy," " Sermons and Lec- 
tures on Universalism," and, in a less severe 
vein, "Travels in Europe." Abel Stevens 
(i 8 1 5-1 897) was more a literary man, writing 
the voluminous " History of Methodism," 
"Tales from the Parsonage," and "Madame 
de Stael." It is interesting to note how the 
desire for education among the Methodists 
expressed itself in the starting of colleges 
which have become important factors in Amer- 
ican life. They are responsible for Wes- 
leyan University, Drew Theological Seminary, 
Dickinson College, Syracuse University, Bos- 
ton University, and many others scattered 
throughout the country. The professors of 
these institutions, through the enormous dis- 
seminating power of the " Book Concern " and 
the Chautauqua movement, have written ex- 
tensively and aided in no small degree the 
effort to bring wholesome knowledge within 
reach of the people. Indeed, Methodism in 
these latter days has undertaken on a vast 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 1 17 

scale the task of developing popular educa- 
tion. 

The Baptist, like the Methodist, began with 
a contempt for learning and the doctrines of 
historical Christianity. It was a revolt from 
tradition and church authority to "the Bible, 
the Bible only," But the needs of the time 
forced the denomination to establish institu- 
tions of learning. Colgate University, the 
University of Rochester, Vassar College, and 
the Newton Theological Institution and others, 
show the estimation in which learning came 
to be regarded. Brown University was es- 
tablished earlier. Of the Baptists, says Pro- 
fessor J. Lewis Dimon, " Among their divines 
are men whose names are ornaments of Ameri- 
can scholarship, but it is a noticeable fact that 
their valuable contributions to religious litera- 
ture have all been in the line of Biblical exe- 
gesis ; to speculative theology they have made 
no important addition." The name of Francis 
Wayland, the great President of Brown Uni- 
versity, stands out above any other in the 
denomination. He was a theologian, philoso- 
pher, and statesman. Richard Fuller (1804- 



Il8 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

1876) was also a most eloquent preacher, being 
at one time coeditor of the Baltimore Herald 
and author of a curious book, " Letters on 
the Roman Chancery." Adoniram Judson 
(1788-1850), the ardent missionary to India, 
was an inspiration to his church. His labors 
in Burmah were crowned with signal success 
when he finished his revision of the Old 
and New Testaments in the Burmese lan- 
guage. John Mason Peck (i 789-1 857) was 
called the father of the American Baptist 
Home Missionary Society and projected the 
American Baptist Historical Society. His book, 
"The Emigrant's Guide," induced a large num- 
ber of persons to make their homes in the West ; 
and his literary tastes were shown in his " Life 
of Father Clark " and " Life of Daniel Boone," 
in Spark's " American Biography." The Bap- 
tist writers and preachers have been noted for 
their simple eloquence and the democratic 
methods of their teaching and activity. 

In contrast to the Baptists and Methodists, 
the Presbyterians have always upheld the 
necessity of a learned ministry ; and they have 
unflinchingly stood by the Westminster Con- 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 119 

fession. They have believed in a strong cen- 
tralized church government, and have developed 
a systematic and rigorous theology. They have 
always had preachers of national fame, from the 
days of Davies, Witherspoon, Tennent, John 
Breckenridge, Dickinson, and Miller, to those of 
the Alexanders, Hodges, and James McCosh. 
Besides Dr. Charles Hodge, they have had as 
systematic theologians, Henry Boynton Smith 
and William G. T. Shedd ; as church histo- 
rians, that indefatigable writer, Philip Schaff, 
and William Buel Sprague, whose "Annals of 
the American Pulpit " is a storehouse of origi- 
nal information about the American clergy ; as 
writers on various religious subjects, Edward 
Robinson, the author of " Biblical Researches," 
William M. Thomson, who wrote "The Land 
and the Book," David Nelson, who published 
the " Cause and Cure of Infidelity," Robert 
Baird, who wrote " Religion in America," and 
Albert Barnes, whose book on "The Atone- 
ment" created much discussion. David Swing, 
who was a Presbyterian until after his trial for 
heresy, was a man of decided literary ability, 
and wrote constantly for the Chicago papers ; 



120 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

his books also have had a wide circulation, 
the best known being "Truths for To-day." 
One of the greatest of the early Presbyterians 
was John Witherspoon (i 722-1 794), a signer 
of the Declaration of Independence and Presi- 
dent of Princeton College. He was an ardent 
patriot, writing in 1774 the "Considerations 
on the Nature and Extent of the Legisla- 
tive Authority of the British Parliament." 
A Scotchman, his efforts for American inde- 
pendence in the Provincial Congress and else- 
where had great weight with the Scotch-Irish 
population. As a metaphysician, he first in- 
troduced into America the philosophy of 
Thomas Reid. An imposing statue of him 
was erected, in 1876, in Fremont Park, Phila- 
delphia. Henry Boynton Smith (18 15-1877) 
attained his greatest influence during his pro- 
fessorship in the Union Theological Seminary 
of New York City. He was a profound scholar 
and theologian, and impressed the students 
with his vast knowledge and his philosophical 
acumen. He wrote exhaustively for the reli- 
gious periodicals of his denomination ; and 
though he produced only one important book, 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 121 

the "History of the Church of Christ, in 
Chronological Tables," his occasional addresses 
and pamphlets were widely known, and received 
commendation from such men as Sir William 
Hamilton and George Bancroft. Of his dis- 
course on "Church History," Bancroft wrote 
to him, "I know no one in the country but 
yourself who could have written it." His 
"Faith and Philosophy," "Apologetics," and 
" Introduction to Christian Theology " are his 
most important remains. William Greenough 
Thayer Shedd (1830-1894) was also a professor 
in the Union Seminary, and a constant writer 
of theological books. His reputation was as 
great in Scotland as in America. In addition to 
his translations from the German, he wrote a 
"History of Christian Doctrine," "Theological 
Essays," "Literary Essays," and "The Doc- 
trine of Endless Punishment." Philip Schaff 
(18 19-1893), born in Switzerland, had an in- 
teresting career in Germany as a lecturer on 
church history before he came to America. 
First at Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, then at 
the Union Seminary, New York, he labored 
unceasingly in many departments of Christian 



122 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

thought. He was a scholar, in the German 
sense of being a student, in the sources of 
history, combining a profound knowledge of facts 
with a power of generalization which made his 
work accurate and brilliant. His most noted 
work was the " History of the Apostolic 
Church," but a long list could be made of 
his other writings, which would include "The 
Creeds of Christendom," "The Religious En- 
cyclopaedia," based on Herzog, and " A Se- 
lect Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene 
Fathers." His numerous translations and edi- 
torial work, together with his literary essays, 
show an immense amount of labor in the 
interests of scholarship and exact thought. 

The Roman Catholic Church, by reason of 
its great growth through immigration, has had 
to devote the best administrative ability of its 
members to dealing with the problems of its 
internal development. In the early part of the 
century it kept aloof from American affairs, but 
its interest in the education of its adherents 
soon brought it into collision with the public 
school system. After unsuccessful attempts 
to secure money from the State, there were 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 123 

established numerous parochial schools. Semi- 
naries for the training of priests were founded ; 
and the teaching orders, notably the Jesuits, 
have exercised an important influence on the 
intellectual life of the church. In the main, 
the men who have written books have had in 
mind the peculiar needs of Catholicism in 
America. St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, the 
college in Georgetown, and many other institu- 
tions of learning have sent forth men who 
have been prominent in church and secular 
walks of life. The first Roman Catholic bishop 
in America, John Carrol (173 5-1 8 15), was a 
friend of Washington and delivered a cele- 
brated eulogy at the time of his death. As a 
theological writer none has surpassed Francis 
Patrick Kenrick (i 797-1 863), who wrote the 
" Theologica Dogmatica " and the " Theologica 
Moralis," used as text-books in the seminaries. 
They are both written in Latin, and aim at 
being a comprehensive treatment of doctrines 
and ethics. His revision of the translations of 
the Bible rank very high in his church. John 
Hughes (i 797-1 864), the first archbishop of 
New York, was a man of great constructive 



124 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

ability, strengthening his diocese by the build- 
ing of St. Patrick's Cathedral, and meeting 
the attacks upon his church by letters, pam- 
phlets, and joint debates. His encounters with 
John Breckenridge and Nicholas Murray were 
famous. His collected writings give a fair 
account of the history of the Catholic Church 
in America up to the time of his death. One 
of his most noted orations was delivered before 
Congress in 1847 on "Christianity, the Only 
Source of Moral, Social, and Political Power." 
His semi-official journey with Thurlow Weed, 
in 1 86 1, with the object of securing the neu- 
trality of the European nations, was successful, 
and received the commendation of Secretary 
Seward. Martin John Spalding (18 10-1872), 
Archbishop of Baltimore, made that city a 
centre of influence in the church. He built 
the cathedral in Louisville, and established the 
Trappist monks in Kentucky. His debate with 
George D. Prentice on the Know-nothing move- 
ment became famous. His principal books 
were the " History of the Protestant Refor- 
mation," " Sketches of Early Catholic Missions 
in Kentucky," and " Miscellanea." Orestes 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 125 

Augustus Brownson (i 803-1 876), though at dif- 
ferent tmies a Baptist, Presbyterian, and Uni- 
tarian, preacher and socialist, found his final 
home in the Roman Catholic Church, becom- 
ing a strong ultramontane and apologist for 
the church. His unconventional book, " New 
Views of Christianity and the Church," marks 
his period of socialist interests, and Brownson' s 
Quarterly Review was a literary and religious 
magazine of intellectual force. 

The line of great Congregational ministers, 
from the time of the Mathers and Edwards, was 
continued in the national period of American 
literature in the persons of Samuel Hopkins, 
Ezra Stiles, Timothy Dwight, Abiel Holmes, 
Horace Bushnell, Henry Ward Beecher, Noah 
Porter, and Mark Hopkins. These men retained 
the same interest in theology and speculative 
philosophy. They interpreted the older dog- 
matism in the light of later knowledge, but a 
continuity of theological thinking is visible in 
their writings. The traditions of the past were 
sacred to them. Though making their own 
new traditions, there was always something 
reminiscent in them. The Congregationalist 



126 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

has been as dogmatic as the Presbyterian. 
Having greater freedom, they have had more 
variations in their systems. The liberty of the 
separate congregation has been apparent in the 
increasing use of private judgment. While 
Nathanael Emmons (i 745-1 840) was a fol- 
lower of Samuel Hopkins, his system of 
thought was more an evolution from, than a 
restatement of, Hopkinsianism. He taught that 
the least transgression deserves eternal punish- 
ment, but he also held that men act freely under 
the divine government. He was a noted theolo- 
gian and preacher, his chief books being "A 
Dissertation on the Scriptural Qualifications for 
Admission to the Christian Sacraments " and 
an " Essay on Miracles." The theological stu- 
dents who were taught by him at his home 
in Franklin, Massachusetts, generally carried 
away his distinctive views. Lyman Beecher 
(1775-1863) was an original and rugged char- 
acter whose uncompromising morality and se- 
vere theology never forsook him, either when 
he was a professor in Lane Theological Semi- 
nary, or as a preacher in Boston, where he 
stoutly combated the Unitarian heresy. The 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 127 

New England conscience and will power were 
embodied in this ardent revivalist and theolo- 
gian. His "Views of Theology" and "The 
Bible a Code of Laws " were as characteristic of 
his thinking as the " Six Sermons on Intemper- 
ance " were of his daily habit. "The Autobiog- 
raphy and Correspondence" shows his human 
side in the delightful description of his home 
life with its sternness and devotion, and pre- 
pares one to understand how, from his fireside 
of companionship and paternal affection, there 
came forth into the world two such persons 
as Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward 
Beecher. Noah Porter (1811-1892), the presi- 
dent of Yale College, was more of a metaphy- 
sician than a theologian, realizing that truth 
was broader than any system ; and with more 
modern culture and literary interest than the 
older men of his denomination, he struck out 
into new fields and harvested his thought in 
such books as "The Human Intellect," "Science 
and Sentiment," "Elements of Intellectual Sci- 
ence," and " Kant's Ethics." His generous 
views made him defend Horace Bushnell when 
he was attacked for heresy ; and his earnest 



128 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

advocacy of Bushnell's liberty of thought proved 
that he was both wise and tolerant. 

Growing out of Congregationalism and pro- 
testing against its orthodoxy and rigidity, Uni- 
tarianism arose to give a new impetus to 
American letters. Channing began it, in its 
most effective form at least, by his Baltimore 
sermon, in 1819, at the ordination of Jared 
Sparks ; and the controversy about the free- 
dom of inquiry and the dignity of human 
nature, with perfect liberty of discussion about 
accepted doctrines, divided the New England 
churches. Unitarianism was an appeal to 
reason and man's best sentiments, and it in- 
spired new thought, and brought men into 
closer touch with nature, literature, and life. 
With no creed but the self-expression of the 
individual, with no forms but those suited to 
the present needs, with no prejudices but the 
discoveries of the human reason and intuitions, 
Unitarianism stimulated the search for truth 
in every department of human history and 
experience. It was the father of Transcen- 
dentalism, coming to its full flower in Emer- 
son, Lowell, and Holmes. The unfettered 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 129 

mind seemed to revel in beauty, poetry, and 
philosophy, German theology and English 
poetry united to develop its best representa- 
tives. Boston and Harvard University led 
in the movement which began in Arminianism 
and ended in a radicalism which refused to 
accept any external authority. Channing was 
conservative, while Theodore Parker went to 
the extremes of denial and reconstruction. 
Orville Dewey was a more systematic defender 
and expositor of Unitarianism than either of 
them, his " Discourses and Discussions in Ex- 
planation and Defence of Unitarianism " being 
widely read. Thomas Starr King (1824-1863) 
carried the new faith from Boston to San 
Francisco, where he was also active during 
the outbreak of the Civil War in influencing 
California to remain in the Union. He was 
an eloquent speaker and writer of ability, with 
a sympathetic love of nature, which expressed 
itself in " The White Hills, Their Legends, 
Landscapes, and Poetry." His other books 
were " Patriotism and Other Papers," " Chris- 
tianity and Humanity," and " Substance and 
Show." He was celebrated as a lecturer and 



I30 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

preacher. William Henry Charming (1810- 
1884), besides writing the " Memoirs of Will- 
iam Ellery Channing " and "Memoirs of Mar- 
garet Fuller Ossoli," was an earnest reformer, 
who endeavored to change the social condi- 
tions of his time. In Liverpool and Washing- 
ton he was a pioneer in sociological studies, 
embodying his views in " The Christian Church 
and Social Reform." Frederic Henry Hedge 
(1805-1890) was one of the most scholarly of 
the Unitarians, an editor of the Christian Ex- 
aminer, and rendered effective service to his 
church by means of his careful thought and 
philosophical studies. His " Reason in Reli- 
gion," the "Ways of the Spirit," and "Atheism 
in Philosophy " were recognized as able expo- 
sitions of the Unitarian position, James Free- 
man Clarke (1810-1888) was a prolific writer 
and a revered pastor in Boston, where, during 
a long ministry, he gained honor for himself 
and his church by the gentleness of his nature 
and his leadership in all philanthropic move- 
ments. His extensive learning was shown 
in " The Ten Great Rehgions," and his prac- 
tical spirit in "Common Sense in Religion." 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 131 

His sermons and poems breathe a devout 
spirit. 

The Church of England parishes in America 
after the Revolution organized themselves into 
the Protestant Episcopal Church. The Episco- 
pal system was perfected by the consecration 
of bishops in Scotland and England; and a 
church, akin to the Mother Church and in com- 
munion with her, was set up in America. It 
was natural that at first the traditions and liter- 
ary characteristics of the English Church should 
have been most congenial to the Episcopalians, 
but after a time the new conditions required 
more varied expression, and other tendencies 
made themselves felt. The comprehensiveness 
of the church and its freedom from doctrinal 
definition produced many differences of opin- 
ion, and these found their way into the church's 
literature. A regard for the institution and 
different interpretations of it, and the growth 
of types of churchmanship, gave rise to con- 
troversies. These appeared not only in con- 
ventions and assemblies, but in books, which 
reflected a devotion to the polity, liturgy, the 
sacraments, and festivals, and explained and 



132 THE CLERGY IN AMERIC\N LETTERS 

defended them. Writings of an ecclesiastical 
more than of a theological nature have ema- 
nated from the Episcopal Church, though 
there have been numerous hooks that properly 
should be called religious, and others distinctly 
literary in their tone. Bishop White, Dr. 
Croswell, Robert Lowell, and Phillips Brooks 
are representatives of these qualities of the 
Episcopal Church : White the organizer, Phil- 
lips Brooks the great preacher, the other two 
being poets. William Smith (i 727-1 803) was 
a publicist and an ecclesiastic. With the coop- 
eration of Bishop White he made alterations 
in the English Prayer-book for the church in 
America, and prepared what is known as the 
" Proposed Book," an amended Prayer-book 
for the use of the Episcopal Church. He was 
provost of the University of Pennsylvania, 
and devoted to scientific research. " The Pres- 
ent Situation of American Affairs " and his 
" Eulogy on Frankhn " show his patriotism 
during the struggle for independence and his 
statesmanlike appreciation of the needs of the 
republic. John Henry Hobart (i 775-1 830) 
was a man of commanding personality and 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 133 

an advocate of Episcopal ordination, his 
"Apology for Apostolic Orders" and "Com- 
panion to the Altar " marking him as an 
ecclesiastic of strong convictions. He was 
responsible for the founding of Hobart Col- 
lege, which bears his name. Bishop William 
Meade (i 789-1 862) of Virginia was a man 
of a different kind, loyal to his church, but 
not so exclusive and narrow as Hobart. He 
was a friend of Washington and John Ran- 
dolph. He was a great believer in personal 
religion, and emphasized the spiritual rather 
than the official side of a minister's life in his 
"Lectures on the Pastoral Office." Virginia 
will always be indebted to him for his " Old 
Churches and Old Families of Virginia." 
One of the most vigorous and intellectual 
bishops of the Episcopal Church was Alonzo 
Potter (1800-1865), Bishop of Pennsylvania. 
He was at one time Professor of Mathematics 
and Natural Philosophy in Union College, 
and his interest in science and philosophy 
always continued. His " Religious Philoso- 
phy," a course of Lowell Lectures, was a 
serious and scholarly attempt to systematize 



134 "T^E CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

modern knowledge and interpret its religious 
bearing. He was a Union man, and up- 
held by his voice and pen the principles 
involved in the preservation of the nation. 
The University of Pennsylvania, the city of 
Philadelphia, and the whole state felt the 
influence of this strong and energetic man. 
Young men's lyceums and workingmen's in- 
stitutes owe much to Bishop Potter's energy 
and wise suggestion. John Henry Hopkins 
(i 792-1 868), Bishop of Vermont, took the 
side of slavery, much to the consternation 
of his Northern brethren, his "Vindication of 
Slavery " being a much-abused book in the 
North. But he was a man of strong opinions, 
and not to be influenced by a love of popular 
favor. He held his high-churchmanship up 
in the face of New England Puritanism, and 
never quailed at the commotion he caused. 
His " History of the Confessionals " and " Refu- 
tation of Milner's End of Controversy," in the 
controversy with Archbishop Kenrick, estab- 
lished his position as an uncompromising 
adherent to the Anglican position he had 
taken. Francis Lister Hawks (i 798-1 866) 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 135 

was noted for his eloquence, but his historical 
investigations were of more permanent value. 
His interest in the past doings of his church 
secured for him the position of historiographer 
of the Episcopal Church, and he prepared 
important volumes of " Contributions to the 
Ecclesiastical History of the United States." 
George Burgess (i 809-1 866), Bishop of Maine, 
was a man of parts, as a learned and clever 
man used to be described. He had decided 
literary leanings ; and with the missionary 
work in his feeble diocese he combined the 
pursuit of letters and a taste for poetry, which 
enabled him to translate the Psalms into Eng- 
lish verse, and to write " Pages of the Eccle- 
siastical History of New England." William 
Augustus Muhlenberg (i 796-1 877) was an 
altogether lovable character. His charity was 
unbounded. St. Luke's Hospital, New York, 
is his monument; and the Church Village at 
St. Johnland is an evidence of his belief in 
the practical use of the Sermon on the Mount. 
Music and Christian harmony were the two 
things for which he worked most assiduously. 
His " Plea for Christian Hymns " and his own 



136 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

religious poetry, illustrated by his hymns, " ' I 
would not Live Alway ' and other Verses," 
reveal the tenderness and depth of his feeling. 
Arthur Cleveland Coxe (18 18-1896), Bishop 
of Western New York, was devoted to scholar- 
ship and to poetry. His " Christian Ballads " 
and " Athanasion and other Poems " indicate 
the purity and wholesomeness of his mind. 
He was under the spell of the delicate spirit- 
ual influences of the English Church, and its 
representative in America. But there was a 
vein of militarism in his make-up, and he could 
defend what he held sacred against the mighti- 
est opponents. " An Open Letter to Pius IX " 
and other controversial writings sprang from 
his deepest convictions. As editor of the 
" Ante-Nicene Library " he made an important 
contribution to religious history. Samuel Smith 
Harris (1841-1888), Bishop of Michigan, was 
a broad-minded and zealous sympathizer with 
the liberal thought of the Episcopal Church. 
He was a skilful administrator. In his book, 
" The Relation of Christianity to Civil Society," 
he outlined a noble conception of the State 
and the position that Christian law and mo- 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 1 37 

rality should hold toward it. William Stevens 
Perry (i 832-1 898) was a historical writer of 
unusual gifts for research into original sources. 
His ** History of the American Episcopal 
Church " was the first attempt to give in com- 
pleteness the history of his church. His work 
in American history, in the discovering of co- 
lonial and Revolutionary facts, was of value, 
though his other religious books are not of 
so much importance. 

American religious life has been enriched by 
the work of the systematic theologians and the 
moral philosophers. Certain of them have defi- 
nitely started out with the intention of develop- 
ing a finished system. Others in less formal 
ways have made contributions to theology and 
ethics. Among these strong intellectual men 
none stand higher than Samuel Hopkins, Archi- 
bald Alexander, Hosea Ballou, Francis Way- 
land, Charles Hodge, Elisha Mulford, Mark 
Hopkins, and James McCosh. 

Samuel Hopkins (1721-1803) was instructed 
in the household of Jonathan Edwards, and, 
possessing many of his manuscripts, became a 
great student of the Edwardsian scheme. He 



138 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

was a close reasoner, but lacked the sustained 
power sufficient to perfect a complete system, 
though his modification of Edwards's thought 
into what was known as " Consistent Calvin- 
ism " settled the trend of "New England The- 
ology " for half a century. Scattered through 
his many writings and embedded in them are 
his leading ideas. The main doctrines are the 
freedom of the individual in choosing right and 
wrong, yet being acted upon, while he acts, by 
divine decree, which extends to his sin or his 
goodness ; sin is overruled by God and becomes 
an occasion of good ; no man is under obliga- 
tions to perform an act unless he has the natu- 
ral ability for it ; one must sacrifice all his 
interest for the sake of the "being in general" ; 
and the atonement was not for the elect only, 
but for all men. The sterner features of Ed- 
wards were softened, somewhat ; and the equity 
of God and the beauty of holiness were more 
sympathetically put forth. For this temperate- 
ness the doctrines of Dr. Hopkins have been 
called Pelagian. "A System of Doctrines con- 
tained in Divine Revelation," "An Inquiry into 
the Nature of True Holiness," and "The Di- 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 



139 



vinity of Christ " were among his most promi- 
nent theological books. He also wrote "The 
Life and Character of President Edwards." 

The most memorable work of Dr. Hopkins 
was in connection with slavery. Privately and 
publicly he kept up the agitation. When he 
first startled his congregation in Newport by 
proposing the setting free of the slaves, as 
Mr. Whittier said : " It well may be doubted 
whether on that Sabbath day the angels of 
God in their wide survey of the universe looked 
upon a nobler spectacle than that of the minis- 
ter of Newport, rising up before his slave-hold- 
ing congregation and demanding in the name 
of the Highest, the deliverance of the captive." 
He afterward published his famous "Dialogue 
Concerning the Slavery of the Africans "and the 
"Address to Slave-holders," and gave the copy- 
right money on his "System of Doctrines" to send 
some freed negroes back to Africa, Through 
correspondence with John Erskine and Granville 
Sharp he started the movement which resulted in 
the establishment of the American Colonization 
Society. Eccentric, but full of kindly impulses, 
he was one of the theological giants of his day. 



I40 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Archibald Alexander (1772-185 1) was an- 
other of the Princeton theologians who, by 
founding the Princeton Theological Seminary, 
gave a trend to the whole intellectual life of 
the Presbyterian church. His history of " Log 
College " gives an interesting account of the 
early beginnings of Princeton College, and 
excellent biographical sketches of the first 
Alumni. Dr. Alexander's work, however, of a 
more far-reaching kind, was in moral science. 
His more professional theological writings were 
the " Outlines of the Evidences of Christi- 
anity" and "Canon of the Old and New 
Testaments," but his ethical work, "Moral 
Science," became even better known, and was 
used as a text-book in many institutions of 
learning. The reasoning is close and the 
illustrations are familiar, as it treats of the 
supremacy of conscience, the moral emotion, 
the nature of virtue, leading to the conception 
of the Divine Being. It maintains that the 
intuitive perceptions of conscience are inde- 
pendent of every doctrine of theology. A 
moral basis is found for action. The treatise 
is positive and didactic rather than controver- 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 141 

sial, the language being simple and clear. The 
application of fundamental principles to details 
of life is done in a way to hold the attention 
and to make duty seem reasonable and sacred. 
The connection between ethics and theology 
is of course indicated. In the argument 
against Paley's contention that ideas of moral 
obligation resolve themselves into principles 
of benefit and injury, the uniformity of moral 
dictates is asserted as coming from a divine 
source. Other of his writings are "A Theory 
of Conduct," " Some Problems of Philosophy," 
and "Theories of the Will in the History of 
Philosophy." He also prepared a ''History of 
African Colonization." 

Hosea Ballou (i 771-18 5 2), one of the fathers 
of Universalism, started life with little educa- 
tional equipment, learning to read in his boy- 
hood by the light of burning pine knots. He 
was very much distressed at the current esti- 
mate of the proportion of the elect and non- 
elect as only one in a thousand of mankind. 
This caused him to study the Bible for him- 
self ; and later he found himself in sympathy 
with John Murray and Elhanan Winchester. 



142 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

His vigorous and common-sense methods soon 
won many followers, his preaching being pas- 
sionate, but full of homely wit and hopefulness. 
The principal books which contain his most 
serious thought are " Notes on the Parables," 
"Treatise on Atonement," and "Doctrine of 
Future Retribution." In these and his other 
writings, which were most numerous, he de- 
veloped a scheme, rather than a system of 
doctrine, that was the intellectual guide of 
Universalism. He was influenced by Paine's 
"Age of Reason" "to see that it was utterly 
impossible to maintain Christianity as gen- 
erally believed by the Christian church." He 
was also an anti-Trinitarian, being a Unitarian 
in thought probably most of his life. As an 
illustration of his plain speaking the statement 
of his reason for rebellion against Calvinism 
may be recalled. " I am born into this world 
of sorrow and trouble," he said ; " the first 
vibration of sense is want ; I endeavor to 
supply my needs, and to maintain my exist- 
ence, which my Maker has bestowed upon 
me ; but as soon as I come to years of under- 
standing, I am told of an infinite debt which 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 143 

stands against me, which I owed thousands of 
years before I was born ; and that my Maker 
is so angry with me and has been ever since 
the debt was due, that he has prepared a fur- 
nace of endless flames to torment me in, 
according to the due requirements of justice." 
Ballou's theology may be described in a few 
words as the sovereignty of good in the Uni- 
verse, the universality of God's providence, 
the final overthrow of evil, Christianity being 
the moral appeal of divine love to sinful man, 
and the atonement an illustration of it. His 
controversies brought forth these views with 
greater clearness, as is seen in his pamphlets, 
" The Divine Benevolence " and his discussion 
with Abner Kneeland on the "Authenticity of 
Divine Revelation." Ballou's playfulness and 
humor, which often softened the rigors of con- 
troversy, early manifested itself. " What book 
are you reading.?" asked his father when Hosea 
was a boy. "A Universalist book, father," he 
answered. " I cannot allow a Universalist 
book in my house," said the father. Then 
Hosea carried the book to the woodpile and 
hid it. The father soon discovered the volume, 



144 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

and his surprise was great when he saw it was 
the Bible. An opponent once asked in a con- 
vincing way, " What would you do with a man 
who died reeking in sin and crime?" Ballou 
answered, " I think it would be a good plan to 
bury him." Altogether Ballou was the most 
noted theologian and picturesque character of 
the Universalist church. 

Francis Wayland (i 796-1 865), the famous 
President of Brown University, was a great edu- 
cator, preacher, publicist, and philosopher. He 
reorganized the university and through his per- 
sonal contact with the students exerted a last- 
ing impression upon them. They felt that he 
was a rock of strength and always had confi- 
dence in his judgment. As a citizen he was 
prominent in public affairs, doing much to es- 
tablish charitable institutions. The first free 
public library was the direct result of his 
efforts ; and he was an energetic promoter 
of universal education for the people, his 
work for the school system of Providence 
being long remembered. His book on "Do- 
mestic Slavery " was an important contribu- 
tion to the Northern side of the discussion, 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 1 45 

and defined their position for many members 
of the Baptist denomination. Dr. Wayland's 
principal literary work, outside of his discourses 
and orations, was the writing of text-books con- 
taining the substance of his college lectures on 
economic and moral subjects. "The Elements 
of the Intellectual Philosophy" was a compre- 
hensive study of the mental powers, with chap- 
ters on memory, reasoning, imagination, and 
taste. The discussion of the value of evidence 
reads like the pages of a law book. "The Ele- 
ments of Political Economy " stated in the 
plainest terms the principles of production, ex- 
change, distribution, and consumption. Though 
it could hardly be called a work of great origi- 
nality, it systematized for popular use facts and 
theories of economic value, and called attention 
to a science which was just beginning to be 
generally taught. More on his own ground 
was "The Elements of Moral Science." This 
dealt with theoretical and practical ethics in a 
plain, straightforward way, starting with the 
origin of the notion of a moral quality of action 
and continuing in a treatment of such practical 
questions as justice, veracity, the law of mar- 



146 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

riage, and the duties of citizens. He acknowl- 
edges his indebtedness to Bishop Butler, whose 
treatment of conscience he did little more than 
restate; of his other writings, "The Duties of 
an American Citizen" and "The Education 
demanded by the People of the United States " 
were well known. Dr. Wayland was one of 
those vigorous men who make vital every sub- 
ject they touch ; and his eminence in his 
denomination brought into immediate notice 
whatever he had to say. 

Another of the system-builders was Charles 
Hodge ( 1 797-1 878), one of the most honored 
professors in the Princeton Theological Semi- 
nary. His articles in the Prmcetoii Review 
helped to make that review famous. They 
were written upon a variety of subjects, na- 
tional and religious, and always with great care 
and learning. The one on the "State of the 
Country," published in 1861, excited much 
attention, being reprinted in pamphlet form 
and widely distributed. It was attacked in 
the South as " Black Republican," and, be- 
cause of its moderate tone, in the North by 
the radical party with Garrison and Wendell 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 147 

Phillips as the representatives. His "Consti- 
tutional History of the Presbyterian Church 
in the United States," "Way of Life," and 
"Commentaries" came from a mind enriched by 
theological studies and a spirit that was essen- 
tially devotional. The work of his life, how- 
ever, was the voluminous "Systematic The- 
ology," which gathered together his mature 
thought, the result of years of study and 
teaching. This work is a comprehensive re- 
view of theology in four parts, embracing 
theology, anthropology, soteriology, and escha- 
tology. There is little speculation or phi- 
losophy in it, and no attempt at original 
treatment. He once said that "Princeton 
had never been charged with originating a 
new idea." He rejoiced in this ; and would 
have deemed it more than an intellectual error 
to have gone beyond the exegesis of the Bible 
and let his unrestrained reason deal with creed 
or doctrine. The system of Dr. Hodge was 
the setting forth anew of the Protestantism of 
the Reformation and a Calvinism which had 
modified itself in few important particulars. 
A decided interest attaches to the polemical 



148 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

portions of the work, because of the excellent 
review of the newer religious conceptions that 
were just arising through the study of science. 
Dr. Hodge could never see anything but 
rationalism and dangerous materialism in the 
novel scientific studies. There are two things 
which strike one about this magmmi opus that 
are not evident in commentaries as a rule ; the 
first is the devotional spirit through the whole 
of it, and the other is the fairness and clearness 
with which the subjects are treated. The small 
book on " Darwinism " exhibits unmistakably 
the fear Dr. Hodge felt that evolution would pro- 
mote atheism. The scholarship of the professor 
was not greater than his affectionate nature. 
This impressed itself upon a constantly increas- 
ing number of students who passed from under 
his influence into the Presbyterian ministry. 

Elisha Mulford (1833-1885), a lecturer in the 
Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, was 
a writer of originality and power. His studies 
in Halle and Heidelberg prepared him for a 
life of devotion to philosophic and theological 
thought. His knowledge of the German theo- 
logians, especially Hegel and Rothe, and his 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERyVTURE 149 

sympathy with Maurice and Erskine, fitted him 
to write two remarkable books, "The Nation, 
the Foundation of Civil Order and Political 
Life in the United States" and "The Repub- 
lic of God." The last named, called "An Insti- 
tute of Theology," was the condensed expression 
of his religious thought and experience. It is 
full of epigrammatic force and has a fine literary 
flavor. It deals with the reasons for the being 
of God, and the relations of religion and phi- 
losophy to the revelation of God, the Incarnation, 
the redemption of the world, and the life of the 
spirit. It presents a complete survey of the no- 
blest conceptions of humanity, history, and the 
Christian religion, with all the aid to be received 
from a frank acceptance of the scientific contri- 
butions to theology. It comes the nearest of 
the books by American writers to being a sys- 
tematic treatment of Christianity in the light of 
modern thought. Profound reverence, combined 
with mystical and poetic insight, gives the book 
a quality at once dignified and monumental. 
The main features of Dr. Mulford's theology 
are the indwelling of the Spirit of God in 
humanity and Christ's organic relations with 



150 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

man, the Incarnation being the natural revela- 
tion in history of the character of God. Sin is 
bondage to the order of nature and redemption 
is the elevation of the soul into the life of the 
spirit. Death is a law of nature but not the 
law of the spirit. Historical Christianity with 
its scriptures, sacraments, and church is the 
power to develop the spirit's life. This is 
brought out very clearly in the chapter with 
the striking title, " Christianity not a Religion 
and not a Philosophy." "The Nation" is a 
book of political philosophy which has many of 
the same elements of religious feeling. The 
conception of the State as a divinely ordered 
instrumentality to bring about the solidarity of 
men is a daring essay into the field of philo- 
sophical statesmanship. " It is a most impor- 
tant contribution to our political literature," 
said Charles Sumner, "and cannot fail to ele- 
vate our national life." Dr. Mulford's gentle- 
ness and nobility of purpose and character 
drew from Whittier these beautiful lines of 
appreciation : — 

" Unnoted as the setting of the star 

He passed ; and sect and party scarcely knew 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 151 

When from their midst a sage and seer withdrew 
To fitter audience, where the great dead are 
In God's republic of the hearts and mind, 
Leaving no purer, nobler soul behind." 

The name of Mark Hopkins (i 837-1 887) 
is synonymous with the idea of the inspiration 
of a teacher to a pupil. As President of Will- 
iams College he was a moulder of men, and 
vindicated forever the value of, the small col- 
lege v/here the professor knows his students. 
It has been said that if Mark Hopkins was on 
one end of a bench and a student on the other, 
there would be a university ; and it is true that 
the knowledge, good sense, and persuasiveness 
of the teacher would give to the student the 
best elements of education, and such an ideal 
of life that he would go forth to do a man's 
duty in the world. At the installation of a new 
president of Williams College, President Gar- 
field, referring to his own indebtedness to Mark 
Hopkins, said : " You are entering upon a work 
always great, always difficult, but now made 
doubly so by the example of him who has so 
long and so nobly trodden the path which you 
now enter. We will not ask you to bend the 



152 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

bow of Ulysses. Let it here remain unbent for- 
ever, as the sacred symbol and trophy of vic- 
tories achieved." Such testimony comes from 
all who ever came in contact with the gracious 
and affectionate nature of the noble President 
of Williams College. But the world also 
learned to know him. His "Evidences of 
Christianity," "The Law of Love," "Moral 
Science," "An Outline Study of Man," and 
" Strength and Beauty " carried his influence 
far beyond the college town hid in the Berk- 
shire Hills. Though he knew the affairs of 
men chiefly from books, and meditated on life 
in his own study, he learned a truth of univer- 
sal application and brought a word of encour- 
agement to men engaged in more direct 
contact with the rush of practical duty. 
Though almost a recluse, he was elected 
President of the Board of Foreign Missions, 
because his spirit was large enough to include 
the world in the circle of his thought and 
endeavor. Of his writings there is this to be 
said, that they express the fulness of his nature 
and are clear and beautiful expositions of his 
faith. " The Evidences of Christianity " is 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 153 

most sane in its effort to show the reasonable- 
ness of essential Christianity, and " The Law 
of Love " aims to show that there is an 
inherent force in life which reveals a har- 
mony of love and dominates disorder and sin. 
While indebted to Scotch philosophy, he re- 
jects its teachings when it becomes too 
refined, and deals with the problems of meta- 
physics in his own lucid and practical way. 
Mark Hopkins reached the world through his 
books, but more completely through the men 
who carried his teaching and admonitions 
with them through life and in more than 
one instance were able to decide the policies 
of the nation in Congress and in higher 
stations. 

Before James McCosh (1811-1894) came to 
America to accept the presidency of Princeton 
College, he had already had a successful career 
as a professor and author of metaphysical books, 
in Scotland and in Queen's College, Belfast. 
The appointment of a Scotch professor to an 
Irish university caused dismay among Irishmen, 
and called forth in Punch a ballad by Thackeray 
containing the lines : — 



154 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

"As I think of the insult that's done to this nation, 
Red tears of rivinge from me faytures I wash, 
And uphold in this pome, to the world's daytistation, 
The sleeves that appointed Professor M'Cosh. 

" O false Sir John Kane, is it thus that you praych me? 
I think all your Queen's Universitees bosh ; 
And if youVe no neetive Professor to taych me, 
I scawurn to be learned by the Saxon M'Cosh." 

When the professor came to America there was 
no such feeling as was reflected in " The Last 
Irish Grievance" by the author of "Vanity 
Fair." It did not take him long to make his 
way into the hearts of the American people, 
who soon learned to love the Scotchman with 
his wholesome and broad-minded ways. Prince- 
ton was proud of him, and for more than 
twenty years he stood as an example of intel- 
lectual manhood to the young men of the col- 
lege and the country. The logical caste of his 
mind, and his learning in Scotch Theology and 
philosophy, kept him ever writing on meta- 
physical subjects. Whenever one wants mental 
exercise there is no better way to secure it 
than by dipping into some of the articles or 
books of Dr. McCosh. His productivity was 



DENOMINATIONAL LITERATURE 155 

remarkable. A list of his publications is like 
a bookseller's catalogue. There seems to be 
no subject that he failed to treat. From col- 
lege regattas at Saratoga to " Robert Elsmere," 
from hazing to the lesson to be derived from a 
plant, from prayer to Herbert Spencer's " Data 
of Ethics," from Tyndall's Belfast address to 
the "Confessions of an Agnostic," he seemed to 
be equally informed and able always to express 
himself with distinction. His greatest works, 
however, were "The Method of Divine Gov- 
ernment, Physical and Moral," "The Super- 
natural in Relation to the Natural," "An 
Examination of Mr. John Stuart Mill's Phi- 
losophy," "The Scotch Philosophy, Biographi- 
cal, Expository, Critical, from Hutcheson to 
Hamilton," and "The Intuitions of the Mind, 
Inductively Investigated." He watched the 
publications of the scientific writers; and what- 
ever seemed to bear upon theology in even a 
remote way was sure to draw from him a pam- 
phlet, a review in the Princeton Revieiv, or a 
book. His writings are a religious corrective to 
the opinions of the Positivists and those who 
use physical nature as the only basis for theo- 



156 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

ries and ethics. And he spoke with authority, 
because he was known to be a logician and 
familiar with the intricate details of scientific 
investigation. If there was a weak point in 
Darwinian evolution he was sure to find it, in 
the interest of truth, not merely because he 
wanted to establish his own position. Among 
the thinkers and students of the land Dr. Mc- 
Cosh always had a message, and it was given a 
respectful hearing. As a religious man he was 
the stalwart defender of the faith in its most 
reasonable aspects against the serious or easy- 
going materialism of the laboratory or the 
street. It was on all sides admitted that he 
was a worthy champion to engage in combat 
the giants of science or philosophy who as- 
serted that they could find no evidences of a 
spiritual life in nature or man's understanding. 
He always upheld the integrity of religious 
truth as it appealed to man's reason and knowl- 
edge of the universe. It was a day of impor- 
tance in American thought when James McCosh 
left the Irish university to take up his abode in 
an American college. 



CHAPTER V 

TIMOTHY DWIGHT 

Wherever the blood of Jonathan Edwards 
runs in the veins of a new generation there 
is sure to result intellects and characters of 
unusual power. This fact was illustrated in the 
person of Timothy Dwight, born May 14, 1752, 
at Northampton, whose mother was the third 
daughter of the old theological and metaphysical 
champion. Young Dwight under his mother's 
tuition learned the alphabet in one lesson and 
read the Bible at four years of age, studying 
Latin at six, and being instructed in geography 
and history by the mother, who acted on the 
theory that children often lose several years 
of profitable learning by being considered too 
young to be taught. The father being a mer- 
chant of position in Northampton had fre- 
quently at the family table as visitors men of 
distinction in learning ; these early impressed 
157 



158 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

the youth and filled him with the ambition 
to become a great man by writing something 
of importance, — a desire which followed him 
through life, from his first compositions to 
the books upon which he was engaged at the 
time of his death in 181 7. At thirteen he 
went to Yale College and wasted two years 
in the idleness and disorder then frequent in 
the college, but soon applied himself with zeal 
to his studies, rising before chapel to study, 
prayers being at 5.30 in winter and 4.30 in 
summer. This vigorous application weakened 
his eyes, which later were more seriously in- 
jured by small-pox, though it enabled him at 
fifteen years to begin writing poetry and making 
a collection of church music. After graduating 
at the head of his class, with the intermission of 
two years at school teaching, he was appointed 
a tutor at Yale. From this time may be dated 
his ravenous search for knowledge, his mind 
being stimulated by the study of mathematics 
and the sciences ; and his love for poetry had 
a chance to grow by exercising itself in actual 
accomplishment. His devotion to study was 
such that he restricted his diet so that he 



TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 59 

might not be compelled to take any exercise, 
his dinner at one time being consumed with 
the mathematical exactness of twelve mouth- 
fuls. The foundations for ill health were laid 
in these ascetic practices, though he had the 
satisfaction of securing a master's degree, de- 
livering as his first public address, " A Disser- 
tation on the History, Eloquence, and Poetry 
of the Bible," — a foretaste of that literary fer- 
tility which satisfied his ambition and won 
him the reputation of publishing more exten- 
sively than almost any other man on this side 
of the Atlantic at the time. 

Dwight's decision to enter the Congrega- 
tional ministry was put to a practical test at 
the outbreak of the Revolutionary War when 
he was appointed chaplain to General Parsons* 
brigade, part of General Putnam's division. 
His discourses to the soldiers became famous, 
while the Muse inspired him to write patriotic 
songs and odes which were sung throughout the 
army. Military experience led him into close 
association with distinguished officers, especially 
General Washington. Patriotic fervor and a 
belief in the triumph of American arms with 



l6o THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

the establishment of a great nation found ex- 
pression in the " Ode on the Glory of Colum- 
bia." The spirit of the lines is at times ecstatic, 
there being, however, a clear vision of the great- 
ness of the new republic in the arts of peace and 
science as well as victory on the field of battle. 

" Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise, 
The Queen of the world and the child of the skies — 
Thy genius commands thee ; with rapture behold 
While ages on ages thy splendors unfold. 
Thy fleets to all regions thy powers shall display, 
The nations admire, and the oceans obey ; 
Each shore to thy glory its tributes unfold, 
And the east and the south yield their spices and gold. 
As the day-star unbounded their splendor shall flow. 
And earth's little kingdoms before thee shall bow ; 
While the ensigns of union in triumph unfurled 
Hush the tumult of war, and give peace to the world." 

This optimistic view of the nation's future did 
not blind the eyes of the preacher to the dis- 
orders and dangers that were to arise, and those 
that were caused by the war itself. In the ser- 
mon preached at Northampton, November 28, 
1 78 1, occasioned by the capture of the British 
army under Cornwallis, the victory was cele- 
brated in fitting terms as " one of the most 



TIMOTHY DWIGHT l6l 

com pleat and glorious," conducted with wis- 
dom, secrecy, and courage, casting "the bright- 
est lustre on our great Commander and the 
army immediately under him," but it also was 
an opportunity to point out the faults of na- 
tional character and the evils that the war had 
brought with it, showing a side of the social 
life that is often forgotten in general acclaim at 
the success of the Revolution. " This very 
war" the preacher said, "a judgment which 
ought to awaken repentance and humiliation, 
hath produced a dissipation of thought, a pros- 
titution of reason, a contempt of religion, a dis- 
dain of reason, a deliberation in vice, and an 
universal levity and corruption of soul before 
unseen and unimagined." 

This was the literary period in which John 
Trumbull's " McFingal " had seen the light of 
day and Joel Barlow was tuning his lyre. 
Dwight caught the infection. With Trumbull, 
Lemuel Hopkins, Richard Alsop, and Barlow 
he belongs to the Connecticut School of poets 
who began the series of publications known as 
"The Anarchiad." Alsop once wrote of him 
thus, — 



1 62 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

" Majestic Dvvight sublime in epic strain, 
Paints the fierce horrors of the crimson plain." 

This eulogy was called forth by the pretentious 
epic poem "The Conquest of Canaan" which 
Dwight published in 1785, though most of it 
was written earlier ; this poem received the 
appreciative remark of his son that " it is not 
believed that the history of English poetry 
contains the account of any equal effort made 
at so early an age." 

"The Conquest of Canaan" with its eleven 
books and thousands of lines is a monumental 
example of industry on the part of a young 
man who through its pages sought literary im- 
mortality. The poet's plan was ambitious. He 
reasoned that since Greece had its great epic 
poem, "The Iliad," and Rome was the posses- 
sor of " The JEnQid," America must not be 
behind in the race for poetic honors. There 
must be a great American poem. Seeing the 
need, he straightway determined to supply it ; 
and instead of frankly taking an American 
subject, he hit upon a Biblical topic as most 
likely to give general satisfaction. It is by 
no means unnatural, however, that to the Puri- 



TIMOTHY D WIGHT 1 63 

tan mind the selection of such a theme should 
seem a perfectly normal matter, for Palestine 
was a good deal better known than many parts 
of America. The kings of Israel were better 
known than the worthies of Connecticut. 

The hero of the poem is Jabin the Canaanite 
who performs wonders not in the record, places 
and battles being arranged to suit the exigen- 
cies of the composition. Dreary as it is as a 
whole, there are lines and passages of merit. 
There is little attempt at writing a scriptural 
poem ; the subject is used like the text of a 
Puritan divine who finds a prototype in David, 
Solomon, or Jeroboam, for characters in con- 
temporary life. The real interest lies in read- 
ing between the lines, and seeing presented 
in varied forms the theories, doctrines, and 
political ideas that were rife in America just 
before and during the Revolution. When Joshua 
speaks of the Rights of Man, and prophesies 
a great future for his sons, we discern a spirit 
working, which suggests a speech in the Conti- 
nental Congress: — 

" Then o'er wide lands as blissful Eden bright, 
Type of the skies, and seats of pure delight, 



164 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Our sons with prosperous course shall stretch their sway, 

And claim an empire spread from sea to sea ; 

In one great whole the harmonious tribes combine, 

Trace Justice' path, and choose their chiefs divine ; 

On Freedom's base erect the heavenly plan, 

Teach laws to reign and save the Rights of Man." 

A London edition of " The Conquest of 
Canaan " was brought out in 1788 and re- 
ceived careful reading from Cowper, who re- 
viewed it in TJie Analytical Review. Though 
he found in it various anachronisms, such as 
eulogies of American Revolutionary soldiers, 
Warren's death on Bunker Hill being men- 
tioned, he wrote fairly enough of the poem as 
a whole. " His numbers," writes Cowper, "imi- 
tate pretty closely those of Pope, and there- 
fore cannot fail to be musical ; but he is chiefly 
to be commended for the animation with which 
he writes, and which rather increases as he 
proceeds, than suffers abatement. His seventh 
book, in which he describes with great spirit 
the horrors of a battle fought by the light of 
a city in flames, affords one proof of it ; and 
his tenth book, which is the last but one, 
another. Here an angel reveals to Joshua, in 
vision, the further destiny of his nation, and 



TIMOTHY D WIGHT 1 6$ 

the poet takes his course through all the great 
events of prophecy, beginning with the settle- 
ment of the chosen race in Canaan, and clos- 
ing with the consummation of all things. A 
strain of fine enthusiasm runs through the 
whole book ; and we will venture to affirm that 
no man, who has a soul impressible by a bright 
display of the grandest subjects that revelation 
furnishes, will read it without emotion." 

Timothy Dwight lived in Northampton, 
Massachusetts, 1777 to 1783, and twice dur- 
ing this time was a representative in the 
legislature of Massachusetts, being especially 
noted for his speeches and aid in passing what 
was known as the "Harvard Grant." In 1783 
he took charge of the parish in Greenfield, 
Connecticut, where he resided as minister and 
school-teacher until 1795, when he was elected 
to the presidency of Yale College. As recrea- 
tion from parish cares he continued to write 
and publish poetry. 

His pen was as fluent in writing verses less 
pretentious than an epic ; a good example of 
which is a rhymed letter to his friend Colonel 
Humphrey who was travelling abroad. Dwight 



1 66 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

urges him not to forget his native land and 
adopt manners that would seem strange to 
those at home, there being no reason why 
"interfluent seas " should change a man's char- 
acter and make him like those who "the plain, 
frank manners of their race despise," the poet 
exclaiming, " Good Heaven preserve us from the 
travell'd ape ! " who had 

"A head, enqueue, by Monsieur Frizzle dress'd; 
Manners, a Paris Taylor's arts invest." 

Foreign learning with its sceptical tendencies 
was to be avoided, and it was not necessary for 
him to know 

"What Peter, Paul, and Moses never knew; 
The light of new-born wisdom sheds abroad, 
And adds a lean-to to the word of God." 

A note explained to unfamiliar readers the mean- 
ing of "lean-to" as "an awkward addition to a 
dwelling-house very common in New England." 
A patriotic outburst claims America as the only 
land worth living in because of its freedom and 
love of truth : — 

"In fair Columbia's realms how changed the plan 
Where all things bloom, but, first of all things, man!" 



TIMOTHY DWIGHT 167 

The worthies of America teach the world, both 
in philosophy and science, 

"Hence Edwards cheer'd the world with moral day, 
And Franklin walk'd, unhurt, the realms where light- 
nings play." 

The new learning, with Hume and Vol- 
taire as exponents, stirred Dwight's soul, and 
his Muse became strangely theological. In 
the quiet town of Greenfield he found leisure 
enough to read deeply in the thought of the time, 
and the more he read the less sympathy did he 
have with those who cast a slur on Calvin- 
ism. Either a French sceptic, or an English or 
American theologian, who cast doubts upon 
received traditions, was his foe ; and not content 
with smiting them in a ponderous discourse, he 
tried the keener weapons of irony and satire. 
This form of combat was essayed in 1788, when 
he published "The Triumph of Infidelity," a 
poem of satire intended to strike between the 
joints of the armor those who congregated with 
Satan. A critic of the poem has said : " Prob- 
ably there can now be left for us on this planet 
few spectacles more provocative of the mel- 
ancholy and pallid form of mirth than that 



1 68 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

presented by these laborious efforts of the Rev- 
erend Doctor Timothy Dvvight to be facetious 
at the expense of David Hume, or to slay the 
dreadful Monsieur de Voltaire in a duel of 
irony." This may be true, but the poem is 
not without amusement, and at times possesses 
a rugged irony that is surprising. The poem is 
dedicated to Voltaire. The main theme is the 
rejoicing of Satan, "Hell's terrific God," at the 
throng of his worshippers and his efforts to 
gain new converts. In the midst of his various 
travels Satan is made to say : — 

" To France I posted, on the wings of air, 
And fir'd the labors of the gay Voltaire. 
He light and gay, o'er learning's surface flew, 
And prov'd all things at option, false or true." 

To the delight of Satan, Hume sang : — 

"All things roll on, by fix'd eternal laws; 
Yet no effect depends upon a cause : 
Hence every law was made by chance divine, 
Parent most fit of order and design! " 

The devotees of infidelity increased in such 
numbers that the throng contained a choice lot 
of souls : the Epicure, " his cheeks of port and 
lips of turtle green" ; the Letcher, "a cur, who 



TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 69 

prowl'd around each quiet bed" ; Hypocrisy, " his 
sabbath face all furrow'd with a frown " ; and 

"The infidel of modern breed 

A swine unbristled and an untail'd ape : 

To couple, eat, and die — his glorious doom — 

The oyster's churchyard and the capon's tomb." 

This array of spirits was enforced by one 

" Who taught the soul of man was made of mud, 
Cold mud was virtue, warmer mud was sin, 
And thoughts, the angleworms that crawl'd within." 

When they were all assembled on Pandemonia's 
plains, they then learned a pleasing truth : — 

"Here shall you, raptur'd, find there is no hell; 
A priest shall teach it, and the gospel tell : 
The pleasing truth, so long from earth conceal'd, 
To bless desponding guilt is now reveal'd." 

The triumph was almost complete until Satan 
discovered that there was no virtuous man pres- 
ent, and then he was enraged because his domin- 
ion was not universal. At first in pride he 

" Mark'd all the throng, beheld them all his own, 
And to his cause no friend of virtue won ; 
Surpris'd, enrag'd, he wing'd his sooty flight 
And hid beneath the pall of endless night." 

Throughout the poem the interest is held 



I/O THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

by more than one clever turn of phrase and 
curious simile. As a whole it is a more inter- 
esting relic of past polemics than many a 
famous discourse. The ambition to produce a 
great poem was never absent from Dwight's 
mind. During the whole of his residence in 
Greenfield, he was working away with this end 
in view. The result saw the light in 1794, 
when he published the long poem " Greenfield 
Hill," which soon became popular. He had the 
poem by him for seven years, adding to and 
correcting it, chiefly at first with the idea 
of gaining relief from work, and then desir- 
ing, as he stated, "to contribute to the inno- 
cent amusement of his countrymen, and to 
their improvement in manners, and in oeco- 
nomical, political, and moral sentiments." The 
outlook upon life was from his own home 
as a height from which he saw the world 
about him, the village and its inhabitants, 
the physical beauty of the landscape, and 
the moral condition of the people, with wide 
ranges of horizon beneath which the thrift and 
energy and religion of New England became 
the true elements of American life with its 



TIMOTHY DWIGHT 171 

peace and freedom and opportunity for all. 
Frankly the author states that it was his de- 
sign to imitate, in the different parts of the 
poem, the peculiarities of many British poets, 
and though he gave up the plan as to the 
details there is a strong suggestion of Sir John 
Denham's " Cooper's Hill," and passages that 
show plainly his indebtedness to Thompson, 
Goldsmith, and Gay. The poem is divided 
into seven parts, each with an appropriate 
name, descriptive of the contents : " The Pros- 
pect," "The Flourishing Village," "The Burn- 
ing of Fairfield," "The Destruction of the 
Pequods," " The Clergyman's Advice to the 
Villagers," " The Farmer's Advice to the Vil- 
lagers," and " The Vision or Prospect of the 
Future Happiness of America." In each of 
these sections there is opportunity for excel- 
lent description, homely advice, and instruc- 
tion, besides the stating of one's opinions on 
many subjects. The verses thus grew to be 
a reflection at close range of the author's sur- 
roundings and well-known moral and politi- 
cal views. In " The Prospect," the account 
of the place that an American village occu- 



172 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

pied in the nation's growth and strength is 
admirably set forth : — 

" How bless'd the sight of such a numerous train 
In such small limits, tasting every good 
Of competence, of independence, peace 
And liberty immingled ; every house 
On its own ground, and every happy swain 
Beholding no superior but the laws, 
And such as virtue, knowledge, useful life, 
And zeal, exerted for the public good. 
Have raised above the throng, for here in truth, 
Not in pretence, man is esteem'd as man. 
Not here how rich, of what peculiar blood, 
Or office high, but of what genuine worth. 
What talents bright and useful, what good deeds, 
The question is. To this an answer fair 
The general heart secures." 

There is a fear that these simple habits may 
be corrupted, and he cautions his fellow-citizens 
against imitating the customs and policies of the 
old world : — 

" Ah then, my favor'd land, thyself revere ! 
Look not to Europe for examples just, 
Of order, manners, customs, doctrines, laws, 

Of happiness or virtue. 

1^ iti m * * * * 

See the world 
All set to sale ; truth, friendship, public trust, 



TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 73 

A nation's weal, religion, scripture, oaths 
Struck off by inch of candle. 
See war, from year to year, from age to age, 
Unceasing, open on mankind the gates 
Of devastation ; earth wet-deep with blood, 
And pav'd with corpses, cities whelm'd in flames. 
******* 
To gain a wigwam built on Nootka Sound, 
Or Falkland's fruitfiil isles, or to secure 
That rare soap-bubble by children wise, 
Floated in air, and ting'd with colors fine, 
National honor. 

Say then, ah say, wouldst thou for these exchange 
Thy sacred institutions ? Thy mild laws ? 
Thy pure religion ? morals uncorrupt ? 
Thy plain and honest manners, — order, peace, 
And general weal ? " 

But his own land is not free from stain. 
Slavery rests upon it ; and before the question 
became a burning issue he sets his face against 
it: — 

" Thus slavery's blast bids sense and virtue die ; 
Thus lowered to dust the sons of Afric lie. 
Hence sages grave, to lunar systems given. 

Shall ask why two-legg'd brutes were made by Heaven ; 

******* 

O thou chief curse, since curses here began. 
First guilt, first woe, first infamy of man ; 
Thou spot of hell, deep smirch'd on human mind ; 
Alike in church, in state, and household all. 



1/4 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Supreme memorial of the world's dread fall ; 
O slavery ! laurel of the infernal mind, 
Proud Satan's triumph over lost mankind." 

The description of the country minister is so 
true to the author's own experience, and so 
applicable to many other cases, that it is worth 
quoting. It is from the minister's own point 
of view, not a general account of his theo- 
logical or legal position in the community. 
The village minister 

" All rejoic'd to meet, 
And all reluctant parting ; every aim, 
Benevolent, aiding with purpose kind ; 
While seasoned with unblemished cheerfulness, 
Far distant from the tainted mirth of vice. 
Their hearts disclose each contemplation sweet 
Of things divine; and blend in friendship pure, 
Friendship sublim'd by piety and love. 

4> 4i :)< * * Kc * 

Not the least happy, he who free from broils, 
And base ambition, vain and bustling pomp, 
Amid a friendly cure and competence 
Tastes the pure pleasure of parochial life, 
What though no crowd of clients at his gate. 
To falsehood and injustice bribe his tongue. 
And flatter into guilt ; what though no bright 
And gilded prospects lure ambition on 
To legislative pride or chair of state. 



TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 75 

... His virtues, round the year 
Repeating, and his faults with microscope 
Inverted, lessen ' till they steal from sight.'" 

"Greenfield Hill "can easily be read to-day, 
not merely as an antiquary would examine an 
ancient manuscript for its bearings on the 
history of a previous generation, but for the 
purpose of seeing what the fathers read, and 
helping us to appreciate the qualities that now 
make virile the best parts of American life. 

Of Dwight's minor poems, a list would 
include "The Critics, A Fable," "The Trial 
of Faith," " Address of the Genius of Colum- 
bia to the Members of the Continental Conven- 
tion," and "Message of Mordecai to Esther." 
As a hymn writer he issued an edition of " The 
Psalms of David," the translations being in the 
main by Dr. Watts, but many of them he 
versified anew in proper metres. He will, 
however, be remembered longest by the famous 
hymn which is now sung in many lands, — 
" I love thy kingdom, Lord." 

The literary exertions of Timothy Dwight up 
to the time of his election as President of Yale 
College give slight indication of the greatness 



1/6 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

and force of his character or his influence 
throughout the young Republic, both as a theo- 
logian and leader of men. From the moment 
he assumed the control of the college in 1795, 
his reputation grew as that of few of his con- 
temporaries. He soon was recognized as one of 
the foremost preachers, a man of administrative 
ability, a statesman whose opinions were held 
in reverence, the originator and cooperator with 
others in the founding and sustaining of institu- 
tions. What he said was quoted everywhere, 
his information on all kinds of subjects being 
accurate and extensive. " I think I never knew 
a man," said Professor N. W. Taylor, speaking 
of him, " who took so deep an interest in every- 
thing, from the best mode of cultivating a cab- 
bage, as well as the phenomena of the heavens 
or the employments of angels." He had been 
farmer, school-teacher, parish-minister, legis- 
lator, student, and literary man ; and from all 
these different pursuits he had gained, accord- 
ing to the voracity of his mind and general 
sympathy, a fund of experience and information 
which made him a marked person. 

When he entered upon the duties of the 



TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 77 

president's office, he found the college in a dis- 
organized condition ; the number of students 
had decreased, discipline was relaxed, and infi- 
delity was rampant. Dwight, having had expe- 
rience with almost a thousand scholars, both 
boys and girls, in his excellent schools at North- 
ampton and Greenfield, proceeded at once to 
grapple with the situation, and by his vigor and 
determination succeeded in laying anew the 
foundations for the great university that has 
grown from these early beginnings. The presi- 
dent, being also an instructor of the senior class 
and Professor in Belles Lettres, Oratory, and 
Theology, came into close touch with the stu- 
dents, and was able to inspire them with some 
of his enthusiasm, and meet them in arguments 
that always meant their defeat. Besides, their 
respect grew when they understood his methods 
of work. For many years an acute pain just 
back of the eyes prevented him from reading 
or writing for more than a quarter of an hour 
at a time. He was compelled, therefore, to use 
an amanuensis, and whatever writing he accom- 
plished was with the assistance of another ; and 
he was known to dictate a letter and a sermon 



178 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

at the same time, sometimes dictating as many 
as three letters at once. It is difficult to think 
of one dictating poetry, but this he often did, 
the result being not altogether satisfactory 
from a literary point of view. This method of 
composition accounts in some degree for his 
directness of style and its declamatory char- 
acter, though entailing very observable de- 
fects, as Professor Moses Coit Tyler describes 
it, " Composition by the tongue, rather than the 
pen ; the style of an eloquent declaimer with 
the audience before him ; clever improvisation, 
— affluent, emphatic, sonorous, moving on in 
balanced numbers " without lightness and ease 
and charm. 

The most important of Timothy Dwight's 
literary labors after going to New Haven were 
without doubt the sermons that he preached 
to the students, both by reason of their imme- 
diate effect, and their influence on religious 
thought when published after his death, in 
five volumes, under the title " Theology Ex- 
plained and Defended." These sermons had 
first been preached in Greenfield extemporane- 
ously from notes, as was his earlier custom, 



TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 79 

but later were written out carefully and arranged 
in a course which he repeated in the college 
chapel every four years, so that every student 
might receive his systematic instruction. The 
sermons taken as a whole constitute a 
thoroughly logical system of religious thought, 
dealing with a wide range of theological sub- 
jects from philosophy to specific doctrines, 
aiming to appeal to reason as well as faith, 
and to combat the intellectual objections which 
Hume, Priestley, and Paine had raised against 
the truth of Christianity as interpreted by the 
orthodox thinkers. Though Dwight's teaching 
is a milder form of Calvinism than that of 
Edwards, and differed from Hopkinsianism, he 
did not eliminate the severity of the older 
theologians. Without attempting to assign 
him a theological position, it can be said of 
the sermons that they were a departure from 
the usual modes of preaching, in that they are 
full of original thought, clear, at times sprightly, 
bringing to bear upon the topics chosen a mass 
of information and argument, which explains 
their popularity almost to the present day ; 
and they have long been considered by theo- 



l8o THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

logians to be a valuable contribution to their 
science. 

Two other volumes of Dwight's sermons 
were published in Edinburgh in 1828, being 
a selection of his more practical and brilliant 
discourses, two of which became noted as a 
defence of religion against the attacks of infi- 
delity ; they were originally printed by them- 
selves, having for their subject " The Nature 
and Danger of Infidel Philosophy." There 
were many other discourses which he delivered 
on special occasions, indicating his interest in 
public affairs, the most valuable being " On the 
Character of George Washington, Esquire," 
preached on February 22, 1800. There is no 
better contemporary analysis of Washington's 
character. He asserted that " Perhaps there 
never was a mind on which theoretical specu- 
lations had less influence, and the decisions of 
common sense more." 

In his political views Dr. Dwight was out- 
spoken both in the class room and in the pul- 
pit. Fear of the influence of French ideas 
and belief in a strong central' government 
made him a Federalist of the Hamilton school. 



TIMOTHY D WIGHT l8l 

With many of the clergy he opposed the 
democracy of Jefferson ; and of all imaginable 
evils he considered an alliance with France 
the worst. The Fast Day sermon of July 23, 
1812, called the "Burden of Dumah," was a 
strange application of prophecy to political 
conditions, wherein he argued that the country 
was now under the sixth and seventh vials of 
wrath, illustrated by the effect of the French 
Revolution on America. " The touch of 
France," he said, "is pollution; her embrace 
is death;" and in another place he stated that 
"to ally America to France is to chain living 
health and beauty to a corpse dissolving with 
the plague." Naturally the War of 18 12 was 
looked upon as a national calamity, and he 
spoke against it as unnecessary and unjust; 
but the greatest danger was that the superior 
force of the enemy might drive us to seek 
aid from France. There is no doubt but that 
Dwight's Federalist position settled the trend 
of Yale College for many years. When the 
news of Waterloo was brought to New Haven 
it was long remembered with what unction 
he prayed in thanksgiving, and read with 



1 82 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

emphasis the passage of Scripture which he 
thought most applicable to the fall of Napo- 
leon : " The whole earth is at rest and is 
quiet ; they break forth into singing. How 
art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of 
the morning ; how art thou cut down to the 
ground, which did weaken the nations." 

A curious little book of Dr. Dwight's which 
apparently was not published until after his 
death is "An Essay on the Stage." In ap- 
proaching such a topic he could not draw 
largely on personal experience, so he reiter- 
ates the general phrases of condemnation that 
characterized the pulpit of his time, using 
against all forms of the modern drama the 
ancient objections against the amphitheatre 
and the circus. Not finding in the Bible the 
term Sacred Drama even, not " a single dra- 
matic piece " in the sacred pages, he con- 
cludes that there is no divine sanction for 
such performances. The idea of the stage 
being a moral teacher seemed to shock the 
good doctor exceedingly, and he makes the 
strange exclusive claim that if this is admitted 
"it would infringe on the claims of the word 



TIMOTHY D WIGHT 1 83 

of God," the only moral teacher being the 
Word and its Author, who in the accomplish- 
ment of moral growth " will have no rival but 
declares that he himself alone can accomplish 
this great work;" as if the Divine Being was 
jealous of whatever uplifting influences there 
might be in the world ! Any possibility of 
reforming the stage would not be entertained 
for a moment, because " evil can never be 
reformed ; it must be changed in its essence. 
We might as soon attempt to reform the gam- 
bler by teaching him fair game, or the thief, 
by teaching him concealment, as attempt to 
reform the stage." The actor was to be 
placed on "the splendid tarnished list," — a 
man "with St. Anthony's fire in his veins and 
St. Vitus's dance in his limbs," who, though a 
mere mimic, learns how to deceive the multi- 
tude. Remembering, however, the dry and 
sometimes uproarious sermons that he has 
heard, the ministerial critic of the drama ad- 
mits that there is something in the actor's 
retort to the pulpit. "You are a speaking, life- 
less, man-like frame more fitted by your lion- 
like roar, and hideous groans, and clown-hke 



1 84 'I'HE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

appearance, to disgust than to command the 
attention, the affections, and the actions of your 
audience." The whole book is written from a 
one-sided point of view and reveals the utter 
inability of the author to perceive the art or 
beauty of the drama in any of its forms. It 
is of the essence of Puritanism untouched by 
the love of warmth or color, or even literary 
excellence. While this is true, there is much 
in the book besides criticism of the stage; it 
is a general moral treatise, and, though at 
times ponderous, has in it many wise remarks 
and admonitions on life, which befit the stately 
theologian dealing with questions of greater 
lightness than usual. 

By his conspicuous position as an orator and 
author, a man of learning and judgment, a 
friend of the leading professional and politi- 
cal men of his state, and indeed of the coun- 
try. President Dwight exerted a widespread 
influence. One of his pupils called him " a 
Father to New England, — her moral legisla- 
tor," and others, not so appreciative, perhaps 
disciplined students, spoke irreverently of him 
as " Old Pope Dwight." His work was by no 



TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 85 

means confined to the college or the church. 
It was he who formed the plan, in 1799, of the 
Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, 
contributing to the meetings by preparing val- 
uable papers, notably " A Statistical History 
of New Haven," and " Observations on Lan- 
guage." He was one of the promoters of 
Andover Theological Seminary, and a founder 
of the American Board of Commissioners for 
Foreign Missions, preaching the sermon before 
the latter body, September 16, 18 13. 

The crowning literary work of a long and 
earnest life was the " Travels in New Eng- 
land and New York," published some years, 
after his death. Many consider these bulky 
volumes as the most important gift that the 
good doctor has made to American letters. 
Southey, who reviewed them at length in the 
Quarterly Review, speaking of the work as a 
whole, says, "Though the humblest in its pre- 
tences, this is the most important of his writ- 
ings, and will derive additional value from time, 
whatever may become of his poetry and of 
his sermons." The " Travels " came into exist- 
ence gradually through many years and with- 



1 86 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

out any intention at first of being more than 
a record for his family. In the first year of 
his Presidency at Yale, he decided to use his 
vacations as a means of exercise and enjoy- 
ment ; so he drove about the country from 
town to town, going sometimes as far as New 
York, always with his note-book near, jotting 
down for his family the incidents of the day, 
the condition of the country through which 
he passed, the character of the inhabitants, 
conversations with leading men about politics, 
the weather and the crops, and other bits of 
curious and new information that he gained 
by the wayside. These recorded peregrinations, 
repeated for successive vacations, soon pro- 
duced such a mass of notes, journals, and 
diaries that the plan was formed of weaving 
them into a book, with the view of presenting 
an eye-witness account of the state of New 
England, for the information of the people 
and the enlightenment of foreigners, especially 
the English, who still thought of America as 
a wilderness. Favorite college students vol- 
unteered to write out the notes at his dictation ; 
and the summer travels soon were reduced to 



TIMOTHY DWIGHT 1 8/ 

reams of papers, only waiting for the printer, 
to come forth to the public in four stately vol- 
umes. They contain literally everything that 
might strike the physical eye or the mind's 
eye in journeys through a limited section of 
the world, — scenery, the height of hills and 
the depths of rivers, the general lay of the 
land, the names of the trees and fruits and 
vegetables, the produce of each locality, the 
number of the population, the progress made 
in society, the buildings, the industries, with, 
as Southey says, " a delightful curiosity in 
strange rocks, whirlwinds, and insects." There 
are preserved in these pages old superstitions 
and legends that would long ago have vanished 
if they had not caught the ear of the inquisi- 
tive wanderer. History and character sketches 
are placed side by side with good stories and 
epitaphs on tombstones. Biographies are writ- 
ten down at first hand, and accounts of battles 
are received from soldiers who fought under 
Putnam and Warren. Indian stories and tales 
of -the early settlers are given with as much 
precision as if they were being recounted for 
the archives of a historical society. The book, 



1 88 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

in fine, is a panoramic picture of the social, 
industrial, educational, and religious condition 
of New England at the end of the eighteenth 
and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. 
It is genuinely interesting and readable, and 
of inestimable value to the historian or the 
student of manners and customs. 

The "Travels" are in the form of lengthy 
letters to an imaginary Englishman who is kept 
well informed about the advantages of America 
over the mother country, and whose prejudices 
and superciliousness are not allowed to bias 
him against the truth, for as the author says, 
" To the task he was greatly prompted by the 
unfair and illiberal accounts given of us by 
foreigners who have done Httle else than cari- 
cature both the country and its inhabitants . . . 
society and character of government." It is 
noted that America has no law of primogeni- 
ture; and in describing the villages he is justly 
proud : " A succession of New England villages 
composed of neat houses, surrounding neat 
schoolhouses and churches adorned with gar- 
dens, meadows, and orchards, and exhibiting 
the universally easy circumstances of the in- 



TIMOTHY D WIGHT 1 89 

habitants is, at least in my opinion, one of the 
most deHghtful prospects which the world can 
afford." Of the national government, he says, 
though foreigners " see it in theory more liable 
to fluctuations than any other, yet they are 
obliged by facts to acknowledge that it is one of 
the most stable and unchanging." He replies 
indignantly to the English opinion that the 
American countenance has undergone a change 
and is growing in features more Hke the savage 
Indians, and exclaims, " Except by the religious 
part of the British nation we seem to be chiefly 
unknown or forgotten in the character of ra- 
tional beings." The American patriot speaks 
out everywhere in the book. 

The biographical sketches contained in this 
work are well done and valuable, especially the 
accounts of Judge Oliver Ellsworth and General 
Phinehas Lyman, and of many other important 
New England men about whom delightful anec- 
dotes are told. There is a vivid description also 
of the battle of Bunker Hill. To illustrate the 
strange mixture of fact and opinion with curious 
information in the record one has only to read the 
six reasons given why the river at Niagara Falls 



190 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

never moves faster than six miles an hour, — a 
question which was argued at length with the 
ferryman who did not agree with the traveller. 

Though the book has no logical order in 
the arrangement of its facts, being a huge 
note-book of everything under the sun, with a 
kind of Sunday newspaper method in its inclu- 
siveness, it has little in it of dulness, much 
of cleverness and even brilliancy. 

When Dr. D wight was laid at rest in 1817, 
undoubtedly a great man had passed away. 
For many years his dignified presence and 
vigorous character, his attainment and power 
as a speaker and thinker, had made him a force 
in American life. When one considers these 
characteristics and adds to them his numerous 
writings and his influence on the careers of 
young college men, one can understand what 
may have been the foundations for the exag- 
gerated opinion of Judge Sherman, one of his 
friends, who said, " I have often expressed the 
opinion, which length of time has continually 
strengthened, that no man except 'the Father 
of his Country ' had conferred greater benefits 
on our nation than President Dwight." 



CHAPTER VI 

WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 

During the forty years of his ministry in 
Boston, from 1803 to 1842, William Ellery 
Channing was one of the best known men in 
America. Editions of his works were issued 
in England and France. The words spoken in 
his New England pulpit made their way every- 
where. But he was neither a literary man, nor 
profound scholar, nor philosopher. He never 
but once set himself deliberately to write a 
book. This he did not finish. His originality 
was not great unless we accept Renan's criti- 
cism that the originality of Channing is in "the 
idea of a pure Christianity, free from all ties 
of sect ; in his aversion to all spiritual despot- 
ism, even when freely accepted ; in his hatred 
against everything which he calls a degrading 
uniformity of opinions." His writings are 
mostly collected sermons, book-reviews, lec- 
191 



192 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

tiires, open letters to statesmen, and treatises on 
moral and political questions of the day. These 
were written for the occasion that brought them 
forth, without any intention of their being put 
into permanent form, so they have not the 
finish of serious literary work. The style is 
sometimes prolix, and the illustrations are often 
dull. But the secret of his great power is to 
be found in the moral rather than the intellec- 
tual force of his work. 

Referring to the enrichment of American 
civilization after the Revolution, Martineau says 
very truly of him, " Adams was ready to secure 
it the honor of statesmanship ; Story, to cre- 
ate its jurisprudence ; Allston, its art ; and 
Channing its moral literature." Aside from 
his distinctly theological sermons, his writ- 
ings, taken as a whole, may fitly be described as 
"moral literature." Their aim is not contro- 
versial, but ethical. The standard of conduct, 
both private and public, which he maintained, 
is of the highest. Next to this unfaltering loy- 
alty to his ideal, he had a love for the beauty 
of holiness, which was ever present in his en- 
thusiasms. 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 1 93 

Channing, from the early days in Newport, 
where he was born on April 7, 1780, to his 
college life and the experience as a tutor in 
Virginia, was peculiarly under influences that 
developed the spiritual side of his nature. 
Bred in a gentleman's family, surrounded by 
the sweetness of his mother and the strong 
manliness of his father, he enjoyed a healthy 
and normal life. The conversation at his 
father's table was stimulating when there were 
visits from such men as Dr. Stiles, who fostered 
in him, as he afterward said, " the indignation 
which I feel toward every invasion of human 
rights " ; Dr. Hopkins, from whom he first 
gained his convictions of the iniquity of slavery, 
and whose doctrine of disinterestedness ap- 
pealed to him ; and Father Thurston, a Bap- 
tist minister who was earnest in checking the 
vice of drunkenness then prevalent in Newport. 
A personal experience like the following, called 
into being his first touch of sympathy which 
all through his life was ready to express itself 
in act and word. " I remember an incident in 
my childhood," he said, "which has given a 
turn to my whole life and character. I found 



194 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

a nest of birds in my father's field which held 
four young ones. Every day I returned to feed 
them. As soon as the school was done, I would 
run home for some bread and sit by the nest 
and feed them. When I came one morning, I 
found them all cut up into quarters. The grass 
around was red with blood. I never forgot my 
feeling. The impression will never be worn 
away." While at New London, where he was 
sent to prepare for college under his uncle, the 
Rev. Henry Channing, he began to take an in- 
terest in religious questions, and to gain some- 
thing of the free and tolerant spirit which was 
beginning to grow in the midst of the Calvin- 
ism of Connecticut. He entered Harvard Col- 
lege in 1794 with a fine class of fellows, among 
whom were Judge Story and Joseph Emerson. 
Judge Story, writing about him in later years 
said, " The qualities of mind and character 
which then were unfolded to my own view 
were precisely the same which in after life gave 
him such celebrity." His friends all speak of 
him as an enthusiastic companion, small in stat- 
ure, but ready to prolong his encounters in 
wrestling matches with a larger antagonist, 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 1 95 

with a laugh that was contagious and never to 
be forgotten, and recognized by all as the lead- 
ing scholar in his class. But these are common 
enough qualities. To understand him we must 
find out the elements that distinguished his 
young manhood, because in a very real sense 
these were his life possessions, only increased 
in certain directions by time and restrained in 
others. His moral purity of thought and act 
was due to a refinement of nature which made 
anything gross abhorrent. Though the moral 
tone of the college was low when he entered, 
he could truthfully say that "an almost instinc- 
tive shrinking from gross vice, to which natural 
timidity and religious principle contributed not 
a little, proved effectual safeguards. I look 
back on the innocence of my early life with no 
self-complacency, but I do recollect it with 
great satisfaction and with fervent gratitude to 
Divine Providence." Vivid spiritual insight 
was no less a characteristic of his. He had 
moments of exaltation, when the guiding truths 
of his life flashed out upon him. He saw more 
in nature than serenity and beauty, and felt 
that he was a part of the loveliness about him, 



196 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

and began to be conscious of that dignity of 
the human soul which became an abiding doc- 
trine with him through life. 

The books that seemed to interest him most 
were those that dealt with moral things. He 
read Locke, Berkeley, Reid, and Price. " Price 
saved me from Locke's philosophy," he said, 
" and during my life I have written the words 
Love, Right, etc., with a capital. That book 
probably moulded my philosophy into the form 
it has always retained." Ferguson on Civil 
Society developed his longing for social prog- 
ress. When the students desired to express the 
sympathy of the college with President John 
Adams, he was selected to carry out their 
wishes. His love for freedom of discussion 
was shown by his refusal to deliver his Com- 
mencement Oration unless he could deal un- 
hampered with the political state of the times. 

Channing's residence in Richmond, Virginia, 
from 1798 to 1800, as a tutor in the family of 
a Southern gentleman, was of great value in 
broadening his sympathies. He formed an 
attachment for his Virginia friends because of 
their warmth and hospitality. " Here I find 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 1 97 

great vices, but greater virtues than I left be- 
hind me," he wrote; "there is one single trait 
which attaches to the people I live with more 
than all the virtues of New England. They 
love money less. They are more disinter- 
ested." In speaking of the debates in the 
Virginia legislature, he admitted, " I have Hs- 
tened to these speeches with a great deal of 
pleasure. The Virginians are the best orators 
I have ever heard." But he found slavery 
depressing. "This alone," he said, "would 
prevent me from settling in Virginia." 

It was during this Southern experience that 
Cnanning decided to enter the ministry. He 
had much time for study, and by an asceticism 
which was severe he trained himself to forego 
many pleasures and even necessities. At times 
he would sleep on the bare floor, go without 
food, and clothe himself insufficiently. He 
read all kinds of books, especially histories, 
and Rousseau, and Godwin's "Caleb WilHams." 
The thought of reforming modern society by 
bringing it back to simple methods of living 
grew to be his dominant idea. His study of 
the Bible and the evidences of Christianity led 



198 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

him to feel that religion in its essence was 
moral truth. The words, in which he recorded 
his decision to become a clergyman, show how 
from the beginning of his public career the 
moral rather than the intellectual element of 
religion appealed to him. " I have now sol- 
emnly given myself up to God," he wrote; "I 
consider love to Him as the first of all duties, 
and morality seems a branch from the vigorous 
root of religion. I love mankind because they 
are the children of God." 

After a period of special preparation in New- 
port, to which he returned in 1800, he began 
to preach occasionally until his ordination on 
June I, 1803, when he became the minister of 
the Federal Street Church, Boston, a position 
he held for forty years until his death. The 
pulpit was his seat of authority. From it, he 
exerted a moral and spiritual influence not 
only in Boston, where he was loved, but in 
widely scattered parts of the country. His 
appearances out of his pulpit became notable, 
as when he delivered, in 18 19, the ordination 
sermon in Baltimore, when Jared Sparks was 
settled over the Unitarian church in that city, 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 1 99 

but it was from Boston that his influence was 
felt as he spoke upon the leading questions of 
the day and evolved his plans for the improve- 
ment of mankind. 

As a man he was gentle, refined, courteous 
but retiring, and oracular in his words, being 
able, however, to impart enthusiasm to those 
who came near him. As a preacher, always 
writing his sermons, he was not carried away 
in passionate appeal, but held his hearers by 
a sense of reserve force which lay behind his 
measured sentences and rounded periods. He 
was small of stature, thin, with high cheek 
bones and large dark eyes, having shadows 
about them almost as dark as the eyes. When 
visibly moved by his subject he seemed to 
increase in height and breadth, and, as one 
expressed it, his " small body fairly dilated." 
There was no mistaking his earnestness and 
it was always caught by the people. His 
manner as well as his reasoning held their 
attention. When urging earnestness of manner 
in the pulpit he once said, and it very well 
describes his own manner : "I do not mean 
that a minister must have lungs of iron and a 



200 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

voice of thunder. Noise and earnestness are 
very different things. I only mean that the 
minister should deliver his message as if he 
felt its infinite weight . . . and this he may 
do without being a brawler;" again, "The 
expression of the heart is the perfection of 
ministerial eloquence." 

But neither manner nor personality explains 
Channing. His principles incorporated into 
life and applied to human conditions insured 
him the hearing that he received. There were 
certain fundamental conceptions that regulated 
his thinking. Foremost among these was his 
belief in the essential nobility and dignity of 
the human soul. The centre of his philosophy 
was man, and from man, as a potentially moral 
being, created to attain perfection, he examined 
the current theology. Past and present dog- 
matism as well as political theories he con- 
tended must be tested by human sentiment 
and reason. This emphasis on the soul and 
its rights was in direct contrast to previous 
New England theological thinking and caused 
the repudiation of the teaching of Edwards 
and Hopkins. Channing was more under the 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 201 

influence of the writers of the French Revolu- 
tion than the Puritan Fathers. The doctrine 
of the total depravity of man was answered 
by the assertion of the inherent nobility of 
man; the doctrine of a bound and predesti- 
nated will by the freedom of the individual life ; 
the sovereignty of divine wrath by the sov- 
ereignty of divine love. In the arguments 
against Calvinism Channing's final answer 
always was that its teachings were contrary to 
the moral sentiments. In " The Moral Argu- 
ment against Calvinism," while he was willing 
to recognize the moral worth which the system 
possessed, he frankly stated that "Calvinism 
owes its perpetuity to the influence of fear in 
paralysing the moral nature," asserting that 
"nothing is so necessary on this subject as 
to awaken moral feelings in men's breasts." 
When these moral feelings are aroused they 
have the right to judge whatever alleged truth 
is brought to them. The final test of truth 
must be a man's own mind and heart, for, as 
Channing says, nothing is gained to piety by 
degrading human nature, and " the ultimate 
reliance of a human being is and must be on 



202 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

his own mind." Any doctrine which contra- 
dicts our ideas and outrages our feelings can- 
not come from a just God and cannot represent 
His character. Though Calvinism answers 
that because a revealed truth opposes the 
sense of rectitude, that is no reason why it 
should be neglected, inasmuch as the ultimate 
happiness of the universe may require a method 
different from our ideas of morality, Channing 
answers that if a different administration of 
justice is required, then right and truth can- 
not be right and truth. These must always 
be eternally the same both in the bosom of 
man and in the bosom of God. 

This moral revolt against Calvinism led to 
Channing's intellectual revolt from the ortho- 
dox interpretations of Scripture. Freedom of 
discussion and freedom of the mind in dealing 
with all of these questions were upheld and 
exercised. It was in defending the right of 
the churches to free inquiry and personal 
interpretation that he was drawn into the 
early stages of the Unitarian controversy. He 
thought that the free spirit of man should 
neither be bound by tradition nor authority, and 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 203 

that if a man ceased to believe a doctrine and 
honestly held another he should be permitted 
to hold the new doctrines. His individual- 
ism was so extreme that he put more confidence 
in truth as expressed by the individual than by 
associations of individuals. He often exclaims 
that no one is responsible for his views but 
himself, and that he does not represent any one 
but himself. Associations and parties might 
be joined, but one must stand above both. In 
his " Remarks on Associations," speaking of 
man's great duty as a social being, he said 
the real duty is "to open our minds to the 
thoughts, reasonings, and persuasions of others, 
and yet to hold fast the sacred right of private 
judgment ; to receive impulses from our fellow- 
beings, and yet to act from our own souls; 
to sympathize with others, and yet to determine 
our own feelings ; to act with others and yet 
to follow our own consciences. . . . The rev- 
erence for our own moral nature, on which we 
have now insisted, needs earnest and perpetual 
inculcation." This desire for the personal 
freedom of the individual led him to fear insti- 
tutions, to care little for the machinery of 



204 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

societies, to look with disfavor upon organized 
charities and even missions. He believed in 
charities and missions, but he thought that 
initiative was crushed out by the routine of 
a regular charitable establishment, as he ex- 
plained himself more fully : " An individual 
who thinks that he is doing a more religious 
act in contributing to a missionary society than 
in doing a needful act of kindness to a relative, 
friend, or neighbor, is leaving a society of God's 
institution for one of man's making." 

The distinguishing characteristic of Chan- 
ning was his reverence for his own soul, in the 
search for truth and beauty and moral perfec- 
tion ; and in the right to interpret by his own 
intellect and feelings what he had discovered 
or what had been revealed to him. He with- 
drew apart from men in intellectual isolation, 
where the voices of the world were silent, and 
he listened to the voice of God, calm, direct, 
and unmistakable. Then when the truth had 
been apprehended he gave it to men. Whether 
they could accept it or not, he considered that 
he had done his duty in announcing his discov- 
ery. But he had sufficient faith in men to 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 205 

think that they would accept the truth when 
it appealed to their moral natures which were 
only waiting to be stirred. If a received opin- 
ion stood in the way of his idea of right, down 
went the opinion, whether it was in religion 
or politics, and no considerations of fitness 
could restrain him. Such championship of the 
freedom of discussion and belief in the right- 
eousness of his cause never came from egotism 
or undue self-assertion, but from conviction. 
He was one of the most humble of men. It 
was a continual surprise to him that people 
had heard of him as far off as Germany. But 
when he had a truth to proclaim he cared for 
no one and stood up in the might of a conscious 
inspiration, like an authoritative teacher or a 
prophet. 

Another of his characteristics was feeling 
joined to self-restraint. The suppressed emo- 
tion in his style gives energy and dignity to 
his word without marring it by exhibitions of 
passion. He was always the gentleman, cour- 
teous to his adversaries and anxious not to be 
misunderstood. When he had expressed him- 
self strongly he invariably added qualifying 



206 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Statements. Sometimes these became incon- 
sistencies. He seems to say two different 
things at once. He takes back with one hand 
what he gave with the other. Again, in dealing 
with questions that would easily lend themselves 
to vigorous criticism he surprises one by being 
cold and analytic and self-contained. On the 
whole, however, the even flow of his style was 
like his life, outwardly calm and uneventful ; 
within burning and full of excitement. 

Channing's writings may be divided into 
three sections, political, religious, and philan- 
thropic ; while these divisions in a measure are 
chronological they are not sharply defined. 
He wrote on all three subjects in different 
proportions during the whole of his productive 
life. In addition there are a few essays, dis- 
tinctly literary, notably, " Remarks on the Char- 
acter and Writings of John Milton," " Remarks 
on the Life and Character of Napoleon Bona- 
parte," " Remarks on the Character and Writ- 
ings of F^nelon," and " Remarks on National 
Literature." 

The literary essays were book-reviews in the 
Christian Examiner. In the one on Milton he 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 20/ 

shows his interest in poetry, an interest that 
was fostered afterward by Wordsworth whom 
he read more frequently than any other poet 
but Shakespeare. To him poetry was the 
"divinest of all the arts," and of God's gifts 
he considered " poetical genius the most tran- 
scendent." Channing's thought of poetry was 
noble, for he believed its greatness to lie in 
its interpretation of truth, and in its inspiration 
toward the ideal. It had in it the germ of 
immortal life, for through it, and by means of 
it, "the soul is perpetually stretching beyond 
what is present and visible, struggling against 
the bounds of its earthly prison-house and seek- 
ing relief and joy in imaginings of the unseen 
and ideal being." In answer to the strange 
Puritanic objections to poetry, that it abounds 
in illusions and unrealities, his answer was that 
"the fictions of genius are often vehicles of 
the sublimest verities." Though C banning had 
this appreciation of poetry, and the poetic 
aspect of nature stimulated him as when he 
roamed the seashore at Newport, or crossed the 
ocean and travelled in Switzerland, and visited 
Niagara, yet it was something above him which 



208 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

he enjoyed without entering fully into its mean- 
ing. He could always have been an appre- 
ciative reader of poetry ; never a producer of 
it. He had what in a vague way is called the 
poetic temperament. He had none of the true 
poet's fire. His biographers speak of his poetic 
potentiality. It is a favorite way of biographers 
when dealing with intense natures. There is 
no evidence in his writings that he had the 
fancy of the born poet. What appreciation he 
had was made. It never took vital hold of him 
enough to lighten his orations and sermons with 
anything above commonplace imagery. His 
interest was greatest in Milton's prose. This 
took hold of him because it expressed what he 
believed in, the loftiness of virtue, the love of 
liberty and contempt for " hereditary faith, ser- 
vile reverence for established power." The 
theological Milton maintaining human freedom 
and applying reason to Christian doctrines was 
a figure of heroic proportions. The final joy of 
Channing when considering Milton was that 
he was an anti-Trinitarian, for it gave him a 
new name with which to back up his own 
position : "Our Trinitarian adversaries are per- 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 209 

petually ringing in our ears the names of the 
Fathers and Reformers. We take Milton, 
Locke, and Newton, and place them in our 
front, and want no others to oppose to the 
whole army of great names on the opposite 
side. Before these intellectual suns, the stars 
of self-named Orthodoxy hide their diminished 
heads." 

In the essays on Napoleon and Fenelon, 
Channing applies to each the principle of his 
high conception of human character. His judg- 
ment on both men is neither historical nor liter- 
ary. It is ethical. Napoleon, therefore, appears 
as the basest of men, Fenelon as the noblest. 
In the general condemnation of the one and 
the unrivalled praise of the other, there is a 
lack of analysis and discrimination, the result of 
applying a general principle to a particular case 
without an insight into motives and accomplish- 
ment. Napoleon's love of power and ambition, 
that led him into cruelty and disregard of the 
rights of others, gave Channing the chance to 
discuss the relations between the individual and 
government. Republicanism, Monarchy, Mili- 
tarism, and industrial prosperity. The main 



2IO THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

purpose of the essay is set forth in the perora- 
tion, " We have labored to show the superiority 
of moral power and influence to that sway, 
which has for ages been seized with bloody and 
eager hands. We have labored to hold up, to 
unmeasured reprobation, him who would estab- 
lish an Empire of brute force over rational 
beings. We have labored to hold forth, as the 
enemy of the race, the man who in any way 
would fetter the human mind, and subject other 
wills to his own. In a word, we have desired 
to awaken others and ourselves to a just rever- 
ence of our highest powers, and especially to 
that moral force, that energy of holy, virtuous 
purpose, without which we are slaves amidst 
the freest institutions." 

One of Channing's best essays was the pro- 
found paper on " National Literature." With 
the growth of nationality and the development 
of a genuine Americanism, he foresaw the need 
and possibility of a native literature, to give 
expression to the thoughts that were seeking 
utterance, and to lead the people to ideals 
of patriotism and knowledge and religion. 
Coming just before the creative period in 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 211 

American literature, when it flowered forth in 
philosophy and poetry and fiction, the essay 
marks the transition from the meagreness of 
intellectual output, to the abundance that was 
so soon to come. Channing seemed, therefore, 
conscious of the impetus to letters that would 
result from the broader and freer use of the 
human intellect for which he contended. It 
was no accident that American literature grew 
up in the path of the movement for an unre- 
strained use of reason and investigation. His 
conception of the value of literature was not 
without an ethical content. He felt that it 
would produce nobler men. " The great dis- 
tinction of a country," he wrote, "is that it 
produces superior men. Its natural advantages 
are not to be disdained; but they are of sec- 
ondary importance. No matter what races of 
animals a country breeds, the great question 
is, Does it breed a noble race of men ? No 
matter what its soil may be, the great question 
is, How far is it prolific of moral and intellectual 
power.?" Again he asserted that "the true 
sovereigns of a country are those who deter- 
mine its mind, its modes of thinking, tastes, 



212 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

its principles." He exposed two errors, which 
constantly found their way into print, one be- 
ing that, since we had English literature to 
draw from, it was unnecessary for us to develop 
one of our own, and the other that what America 
needed was useful knowledge rather than what 
was termed "elegant literature." Of the first 
he said, we should not be confined to English 
literature, but the literatures of Continental 
Europe should also be ours, and this, instead 
of being a reason for making sterile the seed 
of self-expression, should rather fertilize it; 
and in dealing with the second, he enlarged the 
sphere of what was termed useful knowledge, 
by showing that any literature was useful which 
"calls forth the highest faculties, which ex- 
presses and communicates energy of thought, 
fruitfulness of invention, force of moral pur- 
pose, a thirst for the true, and a delight in the 
beautiful." He considered history revealing 
the causes and means of happiness, poetry 
touching the springs of the human soul, and 
philosophy treating of the foundations of knowl- 
edge and duty, to be as useful as mathematics. 
When the essayist dealt with the means of pro- 



WILLLA.M ELLERY CHANNING 213 

ducing a native literature, he gave due credit 
to institutions of learning for which he pleaded, 
and the arousing of individual genius ; but 
he argued for "a. new action of the religious 
principle," asserting that our " chief hopes of 
an improved literature rest on our hopes of an 
improved religion." Channing saw that the 
idealism which inspired the noble deed, or the 
poem, was closely related to the idealism 
which inspired prayer and worship. 

There was no interest of Channing's life 
of more vital concern to him than the history, 
the politics, and the statesmanship of America. 
The State to him was the guardian of the 
law and the upholder of moral principles. 
Whenever he saw partisan desire for gain 
propose and carry through schemes which 
he felt were wrong in motive and plan, he 
publicly stated his opinions in discourses, 
pamphlets, and books. Many of his most 
important publications, therefore, were of a 
political nature. They differ from many 
political writings of the clergy in that they 
are calm, reasoned out without excitement, 
full of a spirit of conciliation toward his 



214 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

opponents, but uncompromising when deal- 
ing with their principles. The War of 1812, 
the Seminole War, the questions arising out 
of the Hartford Convention, the annexation 
of Texas, and slavery in its many aspects, 
all deeply stirred him and brought forth char- 
acteristic utterances from his pen. 

In Channing's attitude toward the War of 
18 1 2 he allied himself, as nearly as it was 
possible for him to become a member of a 
party, with the Federalists. He was in poli- 
tics, as religion, an individualist. Though he 
feared the invasion of French influence as 
much as the most ardent Federalist, and re- 
garded the war as unnecessary and unjust, 
he never for a moment considered the possi- 
bility of a secession from the Union because 
other states committed the nation to a policy 
of which he did not approve. In a review of 
the "Correspondence between John Quincy 
Adams and several citizens of Massachusetts, 
concerning the charge of a design to dissolve 
the union alleged to have existed in that 
state," he repelled the charge and took occa- 
sion to define what "the Union" should mean 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 215 

to a devoted citizen, not neglecting to point 
out the failures of the Federalists. Federal- 
ism, he said, "failed through despondence. 
Here was the rock on which Federalism split. 
Too many of its leading men wanted a just 
confidence in our free institutions, and in the 
moral ability of the people to uphold them." 
In Channing's idea of "the Union" there is 
none of the passionate regard of a later time. 
There is nothing sacred about it as there was 
to Webster. The highest function of the 
federal institutions which bound the states 
together was merely to avert evil, the highest 
political good, liberty, being negative ; this 
he asserted over and over again. " We prize 
our bond of Union," he wrote, "as that which 
constitutes us one people; as preserving 
the different states from mutual jealousies 
and wars, and from separate alliances with 
foreign nations ; as mitigating party spirit; 
in one word, as perpetuating our peace." 
The General Government should act as its 
name implied, not protecting certain branches 
of trade and neglecting others, and not mak- 
ing internal improvements a fountain of dis- 



2l6 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

cord and bitterness through a palpable 
favoritism. 

There was no subject upon which Channing 
wrote more vigorously than slavery. He never 
became an abolitionist, partly because of his 
calmness of view, and partly because he dis- 
liked to join with others in associations, believing 
firmly as he did in the importance of individual 
action. He rendered, however, important ser- 
vice in creating public sentiment; and his 
books were read where others were destroyed. 
The most noted of his anti-slavery writings 
were the treatise simply called "Slavery," 
his letter to James G. Birney on "The 
Abolitionist," the letter to Henry Clay " On 
the Annexation of Texas," " Remarks on the 
Slavery Question," "Emancipation," and "The 
Duty of the Free States." Through all these 
different books and letters and pamphlets the 
same spirit is to be seen, the eagerness to point 
out to the slave owner and the Northern poli- 
tician and capitalist, the moral facts that were 
involved, and how contrary the institution was 
to Christian principles. In the treatise " Slav- 
ery," Channing really said almost all that was 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 21/ 

in his mind. The other writings are simply 
repetitions and elaborations of these first ideas. 
The book is divided into eight chapters, deaUng 
with such questions as property rights, the evils 
of slavery. Scripture in relation to the institu- 
tion, the means of removing slavery, and the 
duties of the hour. As to the contention that 
the slaves are property or as the South Caro- 
lina laws said, " chattels personal in the hands 
of their masters, and possessions to all intents 
and purposes whatsoever," Channing answered 
by taking the highest ground : " He cannot be 
property in the sight of God and justice because 
he is a rational, moral, immortal being." When 
told that governments decide what is property, 
he exclaimed, " What ! is human legislation the 
measure of right ? Are God's laws to be re- 
pealed by man's .-* Can governments do no 
wrong .'' " The evils of slavery were very fully 
set forth as destructive of intellectual life in the 
slave, the ignorance of the slave being neces- 
sary to the security of the master. The domes- 
tic influences of the institution were of the 
worst type : " The slave's home does not merit 
the name. To him it is no sanctuary. It is 



2l8 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

open to violation, insult, outrage. His children 
belong to another, are provided for by another, 
are disposed of by another. . . . His wife, 
son, and daughter may be lashed before his 
eyes, and not a finger must be lifted in their 
defence." The corresponding evil influences 
on the master's character and his conception 
of the purity of the home were unsparingly 
dealt with, as well as the influence on politics 
and on the nation. The analysis of Channing 
was keen. He allowed no argument to escape 
him, and when he approached the assertion 
that Scripture upheld slavery he could not 
keep his intensity in check. " Why may 
not Scripture be used," he said, "to stock our 
houses with wives as well as with slaves ? " The 
true spirit of Christianity was shown to be the 
fulfilment of the law and the introduction of a 
life of freedom and brotherhood. 

On the subject of the removal of slavery, 
Channing seems never to have got beyond the 
thought that such removal must be brought 
about by the slave-holding states themselves. 
Colonization, as well as gradual emancipation 
was suggested, but forcible interference by 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 219 

the North never became a possibility to him. 
"What is needed," he thought, "is that the 
slave-holding states should resolve conscien- 
tiously and in good faith to remove this greatest 
of moral evils and wrongs." Of the abolition- 
ists Channing was outspoken ; while he felt they 
were sincere he could not help deprecating their 
methods, and the perfectly futile cry of "Im- 
mediate Emancipation." The agitation of the 
abolitionists had done great harm in strength- 
ening the sympathies of the free states with 
slavery and in alienating the South ; " It made 
converts of a few individuals, but alienated 
multitudes. Its influence at the South has 
been wholly evil. It has stirred up bitter pas- 
sions and a fierce fanaticism, which has shut 
every ear and every heart against its arguments 
and persuasions." In the letter to Birney, 
Channing deplores the physical violence used 
against the abolitionists, because he believed 
they should have the right of free speech, and 
he spares no words of condemnation against 
those who selfishly misrepresent the aims of 
those seeking to free the slaves. The influ- 
ence of the judicious pleading of such men 



220 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

as Channing did more to educate the people 
of America in the moral way of dealing with 
the question than the boisterous opposition of 
hot-headed men who were fond of denunciation. 
As an important state paper reflecting the 
sentiment of many, the letter to Henry Clay 
on " The Annexation of Texas to the United 
States " ranks high. It is written with dignity 
and force ; and attracted general attention at 
the time of its publication in 1837. The motive 
for writing the letter is fully expressed in the 
words : " Should Texas be annexed to our 
country, I feel that I could not forgive myself, 
if, with my deep, solemn impressions, I should 
do nothing to avert the evil. . , . The annexa- 
tion of Texas, under existing circumstances, 
would be more than rashness ; it would be 
madness." The arguments against annexing 
Texas are put forth with rare skill. The crimi- 
nality of the revolt which severed the country 
from Mexico, the unprincipled spirit of land 
speculation with the manufacture of land titles, 
the resolution to throw Texas open to slave- 
holders, are all treated from the highest ethical 
standpoint. Though the contention that "Texas 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 221 

is the first step to Mexico" v/as not justified, 
yet the Mexican War showed the prophetical 
wisdom of the preacher in fearing bloodshed. 
He could not imagine that Mexico would be 
a passive prey or surrender without a struggle. 
The strongest argument found against the 
measure was that it would perpetuate slavery, 
and this would have an important bearing on 
the existence of the National Union, The 
South by an extension of territory would 
acquire disproportionate power and this would 
give new violence to the agitation of the slavery 
question. " Let slavery be systematically pro- 
posed as the policy of these states, let it bind 
them together in efforts to establish political 
power, and a new feeling will burst forth 
through the whole North. It will be a con- 
centration of moral, religious, political, and 
patriotic feelings. The fire, now smothered, 
will blaze out." Channing in later life foresaw 
the possibility of the division of the Union, and 
should it be brought about he could not keep 
from himself the disaster that would ensue. 

Though Channing recognized the dangers 
that were ahead he never counselled force. In 



222 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

the "Duty of the Free States" he expressed 
very fully his opinion on this subject : " What 
is the duty of the North in regard to slavery ? 
On this subject I will only say, I recommend no 
crusade against slavery, no use of physical or 
legislative power for its destruction, no irruption 
into the South to tamper with the slave, or to 
repeal or resist the laws. Our duties on this 
subject are plain. First, we must free our- 
selves, as I have said, from all constitutional 
or legal obligations to uphold slavery. In the 
next place we must give free and strong 
expression to our reprobation of slavery. The 
North has but one weapon, moral force, the 
utterance of moral judgment, moral feeling, 
and religious conviction." 

Channing, by temperament, education, and 
contact with the vigorous minds of his time, 
was especially fitted for the position he took 
as a social reformer. Keenly alive to the 
trend of society in the direction of an enlarged 
democracy he felt the power that resided in 
the people when they were trained in the best 
arts of living and freed from the false restraints 
that had been put upon them by the ruling 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 223 

classes. He has a place therefore among those 
who, in the early portion of the nineteenth 
century, worked in the cause of the laboring 
man, and made possible in America the bene- 
-ficial legislation, the numerous protections to 
life and limb, the establishment of libraries 
for the people, and the general excellence of 
the public schools. As the Earl of Shaftsbury 
in England befriended the working classes, 
and kept children of tender age out of the 
factories, alleviating the conditions of the in- 
sane, improving the treatment of prisoners, so 
in a less extensive, but as earnest a way, 
Channing worked for the same objects. Child- 
labor, American penal institutions, the educa- 
tion of the people, and the uplifting of the 
masses of the poor were continually in his 
mind ; and by the use of his pen and his voice 
he worked so strenuously that he has the 
right to stand among those men of the century 
who have heard the cry of the multitudes; — 
prophetic enough to see that the advancement 
of human society can only come through the 
progress of the many as they cast aside the 
burdens and injustices of earlier times. 



224 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

One of the first evils of modern society he 
attacked was war. He preached on many occa- 
sions in favor of arbitration and against the 
iniquity of settling disputes by the sword. His 
discourse on "War," preached in 1816, prepared 
the way for the formation of the Peace Society 
of Massachusetts, the parent of similar societies 
in America. Dr. Channing prepared one of the 
first memorials to Congress on the subject 
of American cooperation with European gov- 
ernments in the " acknowledgment of those 
principles of peace and charity on which the 
prosperity of states and the happiness of fami- 
lies and individuals are alike suspended." The 
Seminole War was another opportunity for him 
to express his views on the cruelty and need- 
lessness of war. In Channing's most noted 
address on the evils of war, he shows himself to 
be a careful observer of men as well as a stu- 
dent of history. After dealing with the obvious 
miseries caused by armed conflict such as dis- 
ease, death, poverty, and the undermining of 
moral standards, he lays his finger on the 
causes that produce war which he ranks 
"among the most dreadful calamities which 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 22$ 

fall on a guilty world. ... It tends to multi- 
ply and perpetuate itself without end. It feeds 
and grows on the blood which it sheds. The 
most luxuriant laurels grow from a root nour- 
ished with blood." The causes of war are 
classed as the love of excitement, of emotion, and 
of strong interest, the passion for superiority and 
for power, the admiration of the brilliant quali- 
ties displayed on the battle-field — "war being 
as we first see it decked with gay and splendid 
trappings" — and the early training of the people 
in the sentiments of barbarous ages. The line 
is drawn skilfully between moral courage and 
physical bravery, the latter being found in ani- 
mals and among pirates and robbers " whose 
fearlessness is generally proportioned to the in- 
sensibility of their consciences." To the argu- 
ments in favor of war, that it kindles patriotism 
and sweeps off the idle and vicious members of 
the community, the answer is made, that the 
patriotism cherished by war is spurious, a vice 
not a virtue, for the genuine patriot knows that 
the welfare of his own country is conditioned 
upon the general progress of society, and that 
"war commonly generates as many profligates 

Q 



226 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

as it destroys." "There is another method," he 
urged, " not quite so summary as war, of rid- 
ding a country of unprofitable and injurious 
citizens, but vastly more effectual. ... I re- 
fer to the exertions, which Christians have com- 
menced, for the reformation and improvement 
of the ignorant and poor, and especially for the 
instruction and moral culture of indigent chil- 
dren." But Channing was not an ardent disci- 
ple of the doctrine of Non-Resistance. " We 
are indeed told," he said, "that the language of 
Scripture is 'resist not evil' But the Scriptures 
are given to us as reasonable beings." In a 
letter to a friend he wrote, "The precept 're- 
sist not evil ' is plainly to be understood with 
much limitation, for, were it literally followed, 
without exception, by the private citizen and 
magistrate, all government, domestic and civil, 
would cease and society would fall a prey to its 
worst members." The cases in which war is 
justifiable are the defence of one's country and 
the rescue of the oppressed. 

The lectures " On the Elevation of the 
Laboring Classes," " Ministry for the Poor," 
and "The Philanthropist," indicate a deep sym- 



WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING 22/ 

pathy with the social problems that confront 
thinking men. Ideals of government and the 
duties of the people are so beautifully set forth 
that it is no wonder the people regarded him as 
their friend. When Horace Mann decided to 
devote himself to the large plans of popular 
education which he conceived, Dr. Channing 
wrote to him in most characteristic fashion : " I 
understand that you have given yourself to the 
cause of education in our Commonwealth. I 
rejoice in it. Nothing could give me greater 
pleasure. I have long desired that some one 
uniting all your qualifications should devote him- 
self to this work. You could not find a nobler 
station. Government has no nobler one to give. 
You must allow me to labor under you accord- 
ing to my opportunities." 

Dr. Channing through his long and busy 
career as the minister of the Federal Street 
Society in Boston, from 1803 until his death in 
1842, was an intellectual and moral leader. In 
the midst of the Unitarian controversy he was 
foremost in contending for freedom of thought, 
and in the crises of American life, he always 
upheld what he considered to be the truth, urg- 



228 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

ing a fearless application of Christian ethics to 
contemporary conditions. He was, in every- 
thing he engaged in, a pronounced individualist, 
not feeling responsibility to any association or 
organization, but giving utterance to his own 
ideas, believing firmly in their righteousness. 
Whether he is read much to-day matters not, 
he gave an impulse to the life about him, an 
impetus to fearless thought and to the freedom 
of the human soul. He was one of the spiritual 
forces of his time, and his watchwords are every- 
where incorporated into life. 



CHAPTER VII 

THEODORE PARKER 

There is no man about whom more diverse 
opinions have been held than Theodore Parker. 
He was loved as intensely as he was hated. To 
certain of his friends he was the Martin Luther 
of the latest Protestantism, and to his enemies 
the language did not contain the words of op- 
probrium that should have been created for his 
special benefit. In " A Fable for Critics," Lowell 
thus apostrophized him in verse, doing honor to 
his rugged qualities : — 

"There he stands, looking more like a ploughman than 
priest, 
If not dreadfully awkward, not graceful at least. 
His gestures all downright and same, if you will. 
As of brown-fisted Hobnail in hoeing a drill; 
But his periods fall on you, stroke after stroke, 
Like the blows of a lumberer felling an oak, 
You forget the man wholly, youVe thankful to meet 
With a preacher who smacks of the field and the street, 
And to hear, you're not over-particular whence, 
Almost Taylor's profusion, quite Latimer's sense." 
229 



230 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

To Emerson he was "a son of the soil, 
charged with the energy of New England ; 
strong, eager, inquisitive of knowledge ; of a 
diligence that never tired ; of a haughty inde- 
pendence, yet the gentlest of companions." 
Yet in Boston he was cut on the street by his 
old friends, refused admission into the pulpits 
of his brother ministers, and held up to public 
meetings as a fit subject for prayer, whom if 
the Lord would not save. He might remove. 
"O Lord if this man is a subject of grace," 
urged his opponents, " convert him and bring 
him into the kingdom of thy dear Son ! But if 
he is beyond the reach of the saving influence 
of the gospel, remove him out of the way, and 
let his influence die with him." This was 
milder than the prayer that a hook might be 
put into his jaws so that his tongue might be 
kept quiet. 

This man, who caused a deal of commotion 
in the religious and political world of his day, 
between the delivery of his first broadside at 
the ordination of Mr. Charles C. Shackford at 
South Boston, on May 19, 1841, and his letter 
on the John Brown raid, written in Florence in 



THEODORE PARKER 23 I 

i860, just before the soil of Italy was laid upon 
his grave, was the possessor of so many- 
varied characteristics, and active in such differ- 
ent departments of human affairs with an utter 
disregard of present consequences, that it was 
natural he should have excited extreme 
emotions wherever he went. He was student, 
theologian, philosopher, preacher, reformer, 
publicist, orator, writer of books and always 
the speaker of his own mind ; managing gen- 
erally to get on the unpopular side, selected 
perhaps, because of its small present chances, 
in hope of larger chances at another time ; with 
no regard for traditions or any institutions organ- 
ized by men ; acting with the force of a new 
conviction wherever his own reason or illumina- 
tion led the way. He was an uncomfortable 
neighbor, but an inflexible adherent, provided 
you agreed with him ; he disliked dogma and 
creed, but no man had more uncompromising 
dogma than his own opinions, nor a more iron- 
bound creed than the personal beliefs which he 
desired to force upon mankind. Yet he had 
a sweet side to his character. His supporters 
and friends loved him, as he them ; and children 



232 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

and flowers were a great delight to him ; he 
sometimes tried his hand at verse-making, and 
shed tears when an act of kindness was done to 
him. 

Theodore Parker was a farmer's lad born in 
Lexington, August 24, 18 10, not so many years 
after his grandfather Captain Parker led the 
little band of patriots on the village green. In 
youth he could plough the field as well as any, 
but reserved for himself certain hours for study, 
and almost unexpectedly slipped into college. 
His father missed him one day, and wondering 
where he had gone was astonished when his 
son returned at midnight, explaining his absence 
by saying, " Father, I entered Harvard College 
to-day." His greatest preparation for life was 
the sturdy religion of his father and the teach- 
ing of his mother on the subject of righteous- 
ness and conscience. 

His college and divinity course were marked 
from others only by a greater devotion to study, 
the formation of habits of reading that lasted 
him through Hfe, and a willingness to seek truth 
in its furthest hiding-place. Books were always 
his passion. He collected them by the thou- 



THEODORE PARKER 233 

sand, and read them, too, on every possible 
subject, thus furnishing himself with facts, sta- 
tistics, arguments, illustrations, and whatever 
else was needed to clear his own thought and 
enable him to present the truth as he held it 
for the acceptance of others. When lecturing 
throughout the country it was a familiar sight 
to see him with a carpet-bag filled with books, 
which he read on the train and in his hotel. 
His desire for accuracy of statement led him to 
write for information at first hand from mem- 
bers of Congress and authors of foreign note. 
Whatever he wrote was the result of hard work 
and careful preparation. The enormous fer- 
tility of his pen in letters, journals, reviews, ad- 
dresses, sermons, and books, never tempted him 
into vague statement of fact, or the careless use 
of other men's opinions. He verified what he 
used, going however to the sources that were 
not open to every one. The study that exer- 
cised the dominant influence on his life was 
German. Through it as a medium he was 
brought into contact with the theology and 
philosophy of Germany. These both found a 
soil prepared for them, and grew up with pro- 



234 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

fusion on American soil. Kant, Goethe, Schlei- 
ermacher, De Wette, and Baur, with others of 
the Tubingen School opened his eyes to the 
new possibilities of Biblical interpretation ; and 
he was not slow in adopting the novel ideas. 

In consequence of this assimilation of Ger- 
man thought, the Unitarianism into which he 
had been born began to appear too narrow. It 
had been a movement for breadth and freedom 
of thought, but the Bible was its source of 
authority. When Unitarianism differed from 
Orthodoxy, it was a matter of the interpreta- 
tion of texts ; the older doctrines were not be- 
lieved because the Bible taught otherwise. The 
Trinity as well as the Atonement or Total De- 
pravity were denied because it was contended 
they were not Scriptural. To Parker, influ- 
enced by the Germans, the authority of the 
Bible was little above the authority of any 
other historical book. He was willing to dis- 
card almost the whole of it ; and instead of 
appeaUng to the book for his religious ideas, 
he turned to the soul of man with its intui- 
tions and direct communication with Deity. It 
was very early in his ministry that he wrote, 



THEODORE PARKER 235 

" The Orthodox place the Bible above the soul ; 
we the soul above the Bible." Thus Christi- 
anity became to him simply one of the religions 
of the world with its errors of opinion and doc- 
trine as marked as that of any other system. 
The founder of the religion was a righteous 
man who, however, did not even exhaust the 
possibilities of humanity. 

These changes in Parker's intellectual atti- 
tude toward the current theology of his friends 
and ministerial companions came slowly at first. 
He tried to resist them, but after his ordination 
in 1837, and settlement as parish minister in 
West Roxbury, he grew bolder in his investiga- 
tions, and less guarded in his public utterances. 
His parish was a rural one, containing at most 
about sixty families. The duties were such that 
he had ample time to devote to research. Occa- 
sionally he preached in Boston, exchanging with 
some neighboring minister. In the early days 
of his pastorate his preaching was simple 
enough. Few could take exception to it. 

Soon his preaching became more aggressive, 
and his heresies were noised abroad. He began 
to be looked upon with suspicion. Suspicion 



236 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

grew into open hostility when he delivered his 
celebrated discourse at the ordination of Mr. 
Shackford in 1841 on "The Transient and Per- 
manent in Christianity." The sermon was loose 
in structure, with many faults of style, rhetori- 
cal and redundant, but it had in it the fearless 
and direct statement of opinion for which he 
became renowned. 

The lectures delivered in Boston in 1 841-1842, 
afterward collected and published in his most 
popular book under the title, " A Discourse of 
Matters Pertaining to Religion," gained the ill- 
will of most of the Unitarian clergy of Boston. 
To exchange pulpits with Parker was looked 
upon as a disgrace. He was asked to withdraw 
from the Boston Ministerial Association. This 
he refused to do, replying that they might 
expel him if they so desired. Rev. John Turner 
Sargent of Suffolk Street Chapel in Boston, in 
November, 1844, had the temerity to exchange 
with the arch-heretic, and he was forced to 
resign his charge. Unitarianism which began 
by the assertion of independence and freedom 
of thought was startled to see its contentions 
accepted so heartily and carried to the logical 



THEODORE PARKER 237 

results of unrestrained speculation and speech. 
Parker's training had accustomed him to free- 
dom in handling dogma ; and he was prepared 
to go far afield in his thought, and turn upon 
religion the light from every possible source. 
Destructive criticism had found him an ardent 
disciple, and he was ready to advance the 
boundaries of liberal theology ; but those who 
guarded the outposts were unwilling to move, 
and he learned that he must stand alone, not 
without sorrow for the separation from his 
friends, yet with the knowledge of the satis- 
faction that would come from the approval of 
his conscience. 

The book that caused most of the trouble, 
"A Discourse of Matters Pertaining to Re- 
ligion," was a treatise which contained most 
of his rehgious and philosophical ideas, after- 
ward set forth in other volumes : " Ten Ser- 
mons of Religion," and " Sermons of Theism, 
Atheism, and the Popular Theology." The 
first-named book was popular in form, more 
for the general reader than the scholar, put- 
ting in the hands of those of ordinary intelli- 
gence a vigorous and clear exposition of the 



238 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

advanced ideas of the German thinkers. It 
attracted attention because it was destructive, 
and in no way softened the force of a blow. 
The main subject of the book was a discus- 
sion of the relation of the religious element, 
of the human sentiment of religion, to God, 
to Jesus, to the Bible, and the Church. This 
gave every chance to bring forward whatever 
positive ideas he had and to deal with the 
important questions of religion. Throughout 
the philosophical part it is easy to discern the 
influence of Schleiermacher in his conception 
of the religious sentiment as being based on 
a feeling of dependence that man has natu- 
rally and universally, — the source of Fetich- 
ism, and Polytheism, as well as of Monotheism. 
Religion in its essence is voluntary obedience 
to the law of the universe, "inward and out- 
ward obedience to that law he has written on 
our nature, revealed in various ways — through 
Instinct, Reason, Conscience, and the Religious 
emotions." The effect of the Intuitional School 
of Philosophy is shown in the explanation of 
the idea of God's existence as an " Intuition 
of Reason." Thus defining man's relation to 



THEODORE PARKER 239 

Deity as the recipient of revelation in his own 
person through the channels of natural in- 
stincts, feeling, and emotion, it is only a step 
for one to become an absolute individualist 
and to stand aloof from institutions, sacred 
books, sacred persons, forms of any kind, or 
even sacraments, and be sufficient unto oneself, 
relying upon personal inspiration rather than 
upon any assistance from a church or an 
organization of religion. It was this utter dis- 
regard for the institution that made him ridi- 
cule the church and the ministers, and even 
the sacraments that men held dear. In 
speaking once of the elements used at the 
celebration of the Holy Communion he rather 
unnecessarily referred to them as " grocer's 
wine and baker's bread," and thought that a 
good way of observing the sacrament would 
be "to have a meeting in the evening for reli- 
gious conversation and prayer (if needful) at 
private houses; and bread and wine might 
form part of the entertainment." The best 
friends of Parker could not always commend 
his good taste or judgment. He could make 
himself a very offensive opponent. When 



240 TH£ clergy in AMERICAN LETTERS 

Emerson resigned his parish because he had 
become convinced • of the uselessness of ad- 
ministering the Lord's Supper he was not 
guilty in his farewell sermon of offending 
against the canons of considerate judgment. 
Parker, however, was so earnest in putting 
down the errors of mankind that he had no 
time to consider a bruised feeling. He was 
one of those who prided himself on his ability 
to strike out from the shoulder, and he did 
not care much whom he hit. His sarcasm, 
ridicule, scorn, and invective were weapons 
kept well burnished, and they flashed with 
such rapidity that his opponents were some- 
times stunned. 

Martineau reviewing one of Parker's books, 
remarks that " his convictions are rather a series 
of noble fragments waiting adjustment by ma- 
turertoil than a compact and finished structure." 
Parker never had a finished structure, because, 
for one reason, he was the child of many impres- 
sions. He absorbed from many sources, and 
in a partial measure only assimilated what he 
received. It is easy to trace the direct influence 
upon him of the books he was reading, and the 



THEODORE PARKER 24 I 

men who were his companions. His association 
with the little group of Transcendentalists who 
met at the Tremont House, Boston, for social 
intercourse and discussion was one of the great- 
est factors in his development. There he 
learned to know intimately Emerson, who became 
his philosophic guide in the Transcendental 
scheme; George Ripley, the earnest reformer 
and literary man who organized Brook Farm ; 
William Henry Channing, whom Parker referred 
to as "a most delightful man, full of the right 
spirit ; a little diseased in the region of conscious- 
ness, but otherwise of most remarkable beauty 
of character " ; Margaret Fuller, whom he con- 
sidered a critic, not a creator or seer, but " a 
prodigious woman, though she puts herself 
upon her genius rather too much " ; and Alcott, 
Hedge, and the others. Parker was deeply inter- 
ested in all their plans ; and when George Ripley 
resigned his ministry to estabhsh the Utopian 
scheme of Brook Farm, the colony settled very 
near him in West Roxbury. Though he never 
joined the enterprise he became in a sense its 
father confessor, was a constant visitor, and con- 
tributed articles of importance to The Dial ; 



242 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

but his sense of humor did not always make 
him take the new movement seriously, and his 
practical common-sense probably saved him 
from being involved in the failure that was sure 
to come. Speaking of The Dial, he wrote : 

" If I were going to do the thing in paint, it 
should be thus : I would represent a body of 
minute philosophers, men and maidens, ele- 
gantly dressed, bearing a banner inscribed with 
The Dial. A baby and a pap-spoon and a 
cradle should be the accompaniment thereof. 
The whole body should have 'rings on their 
fingers, and bells on their toes ' and go ' mincing 
as they walk ' led by a body of fiddlers, with 
Scott's Claude Halcro ' playing the first violin 
and repeating new poetry.' " 

He used the pages of The Dial, however, 
for a very caustic piece of work when he 
reviewed the proceedings of the council called 
to adjust the relations between Rev. John Pier- 
pont and the Hollis Street Society. Pierpont 
had preached against the evils of intemperance, 
condemning those who manufactured liquor. 
His parishioners were disturbed by this out- 
burst when they were enjoying their wines and 



THEODORE PARKER 243 

making money by sales of rum. Pierpont had 
to go, and Parker, feeling the insecurity of his 
own position, had a sympathy for him which 
found its way into the pages of The Dial, 
soothing the soul of the unfortunate minister by 
calling the members of the council a set of 
hypocrites and double-dealers, and the paper 
they put forth a " Jesuitical Document." In 
lighter vein was his article on " A Bumblebee's 
Thoughts on the Plan and Purpose of the Uni- 
verse," in which he caricatured a meeting of 
learned scientists, who assumed to know all the 
mysteries of nature. " There is consciousness 
below us," said the chief Bumblebee, "though 
dim and feeble. But self-consciousness is our 
glorious monopoly ! It is only the Bumblebee 
that can lay his feeler on his proboscis and say, 
" I am a me." 

After the failure of The Dial, which con- 
tained within its pages some of the most 
remarkable bits of American literature, Parker's 
only other connection with periodical literature 
was his founding and coeditorship with Emer- 
son and J. E. Cabot of The Massachusetts 
Quarterly Review, which ran a troubled but 



244 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

brilliant career of about three years. Serious 
and timely articles from his pen appeared in 
many of the numbers, together with articles of 
unusual merit by the leading Hterary men of the 
day. A careful estimate of Emerson's writings, 
savage reviews of Prescott's histories, a bio- 
graphical paper on John Quincy Adams, and a 
strong article on "The Political Distinction of 
America," were among his best contributions. 
Both The Dial and The Quarterly were 
valuable in giving an opportunity for public 
expression to the brilliant set of men who, hav- 
ing entered the Unitarian ministry, felt com- 
pelled to withdraw and devote themselves to 
other pursuits. In many cases, what the 
church lost, the world gained : and the move- 
ment for free and unrestrained thought did not 
end in a new Unitarianism, but in a literary 
self-expression, adding richness to American 
letters. Emerson, Ripley, WiUiam Henry 
Channing, and Pierpont, all began as clergymen, 
but the world of action and letters was too 
strong and drew them away from the teachings 
of a religion which ceased to hold them with 
any ties of the institution ; and preaching by 



THEODORE PARKER 245 

the use of the pen seemed a more important 
task than the use of the voice in the pulpit. 
Emerson retired to Concord and wrote his 
essays, books, and poems ; Ripley, after the 
failure of Brook Farm, went to New York and 
made The Tribime a daily paper of literary 
power ; Channing became an ardent reformer, 
both in America and England, contributing to 
literature many books, among them the transla- 
tion of Jouffroy's, " Introduction to Ethics " ; 
and Pierpont, after serving as a chaplain in the 
Civil War, resided in Washington as a clerk, 
having, however, published his book of verse 
"Airs of Palestine." Parker would have fol- 
lowed the example of these men if he had been 
shut into the small compass of the parish in 
West Roxbury. No one would give him an 
opportunity to be heard in Boston ; and he felt 
that his life was not reaching out as it should. 
A year abroad, in 1844, only served to estab- 
lish him more firmly in his intellectual attitude. 
He had met Carlyle and Martineau in England, 
and, in Germany heard Tholuck lecture, visited 
De Wette at Bale, met Baur and Ewald. When 
he returned to Boston the conflict with the 



246 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

churches was renewed, and it was made impos- 
sible for him even to deliver " the great and 
Thursday Lecture." It was then that his with- 
drawal from the pulpit might have been made, 
and probably would have been made had not 
some gentlemen met together and resolved, on 
January 22, 1845, "That the Rev. Theodore 
Parker shall have a chance to be heard in 
Boston." 

The chance that was needed to develop 
Parker to the utmost had at last arrived. He 
was henceforth to be a power in Boston, through- 
out New England and America. His energy 
and boldness, together with his immense knowl- 
edge of facts and his convictions, were to be at 
the service of an ever increasing number of 
sympathizers. 

From the platform of the Melodeon, and 
later of Music Hall, to which he removed 
March 21, 1852, he preached his burning 
words ; clear, forcible, sometimes restrained in 
their vigor, at other times as regardless of 
consequences as a conflagration. 

As a preacher he generally read from a 
manuscript, having few gestures, the most 



THEODORE PARKER 247 

characteristic being the raising and falling of 
his hand. His voice was not musical, but his 
eyes were searching, glowing with intensity 
when he was intent upon his subject, though 
their full effect was hindered by the glasses he 
wore. He held his audience by the earnestness 
of his thought. A plain man who heard him 
once asked, " Is that Theodore Parker ? You 
told me he was a remarkable man ; but I 
understood every word he said." His language 
was simple and his illustrations direct, his style 
sometimes being epigrammatic and occasionally 
relieved by poetical passages that in some 
cases could hardly escape being called fine 
writing. He cared more for what he said than 
for the way in which he said it. He was quick 
to use any incident occurring during the service 
to enforce his lesson. Once, describing obsta- 
cles, he said, " Before such a man all obstacles 
will " — at this moment there was a snow-slide 
on the roof — "slide away like the ice from 
the slated roof." It was remembered that, 
when he was praying, a dog having strayed 
into the hall set up a howl ; he continued, 
undisturbed, "We thank Thee, O Father of 



248 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

all, who hast made even the humblest dumb 
creature to praise Thee after its own way." 
Adverse criticism did not worry him. " If 
a man called that a 'rowdy speech,' it was 
because he had the soul of a rowdy," he re- 
torted, " and if fifty men said so, it was because 
there were fifty so ensouled." 

The themes that he handled in the pulpit 
were by no means confined to theological dis- 
cussion. After a time theology became inci- 
dental only. He took up the questions of the 
day, social and political, with such frequency 
that his weekly sermon became the manifesto 
of the reformer and the publicist and at times 
the politician. These sermons, printed and 
circulated by the thousands, were his chief 
source of power ; and the questions of labor 
and capital, the rights of the workingmen 
and the selfishness of corporations and 
the control of the liquor interest were vital 
problems that he attacked. When he dealt 
with war, a favorite topic with reformers, he 
proved himself not to be a non-resistant. His 
nature was too fiery. He would have been 
willing to lead a regiment, playing his part, 



THEODORE PARKER 249 

as he undoubtedly did, in the Kansas War, 
and aiding more than is now known in John 
Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry. An eye to 
detect wrong and a mind ready to lend its 
best powers to support the cause of the weak, 
and a hand eager to battle against oppression 
were the characteristics of this reformer, who 
did not always neglect the sweetness of life 
that lies behind the sturdy blow and gives a 
kind of delicacy to the roughest usage. His 
strength was often reinforced by a strain of 
verse which sang its way into the private 
journal and helped to lighten the load he was 
carrying. 

" Give me the power to labor for mankind ; 
Make me the mouth of such as cannot speak ; 
Eyes let me be to groping men and blind ; 
A conscience to the base ; and to the weak 
Let me be hands and feet ; and to the foolish, mind." 

The abolition of slavery soon occupied more 
of Parker's thought than theology. It became 
him a living issue of theology, — a practical 
pplication of his religion. He judged men 
,nd measures solely by their stand on the slav- 
ery question in its many phases. The Free- 



2 50 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Soil movement gained his hearty support; and 
his Sunday orations, notably the one on the 
death of Zachary Taylor, were occupied with 
this question. He never could forget that 
Taylor was a slave-holder. His greatest out- 
burst, however, was when the Fugitive Slave 
Bill was passed and Daniel Webster delivered 
his famous speech in its favor on March 7, 
1850. He condemned Webster's speech at 
a meeting of citizens in Faneuil Hall, March 
25, 1850, and urged that such a law should be 
broken because it was the unrighteous law of 
selfish men. The higher law of God must be 
obeyed, and as the Stamp Act was repudiated 
by New England, so this act should be dis- 
obeyed by Christian men. 

This position was taken with great violence 
in his famous speech on Daniel Webster just 
after the statesman's death. This oration, de- 
livered in October, 1852, was in many respects 
his most elaborate effort. With an attempt at 
fairness he commended him as one of the gre.'t - 
est men of America, but was forced to confcj ; 
that the mighty had fallen, that Webster ha I 
sold himself to the South, hoping to gain uy 



THEODORE PARKER 2$ I 

his compromise the presidential nomination, 
and thus became the assassin of liberty. No 
better statement of the aboHtionist opinion of 
Webster can be fomid. Webster's contention 
that the Union was in danger and that the South 
would secede was laughed at. The abolition- 
ists felt no danger from this source. 

Whether one agrees or not with Webster's 
speech, there is no denying that he was one 
of the first to see the great danger of civil war. 
While others were blind to the dangers, and 
played with fire as children, he worked to extin- 
guish the flames that threatened to burn up 
Constitution, Union, and the future prosperity 
of America. The sober historian will hardly 
accept Parker's description of Webster as set- 
ting forth the truth about him in all respects, 
or representing the final verdict of his country- 
men. On the other hand Parker was one of 
those determined and conscientious men who 
rendered a service that we cannot calculate 
in forcing the moral issue to the front, and 
who never could be silenced. In every address 
and public utterance he disentangled from the 
current political issues the one great moral 



252 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

issue that was at the basis of them all, and 
forced it on popular attention. 

Those of the people, certain of the clergy 
among them, who upheld slavery as just and 
even Scriptural, received no quarter. The 
colleges which held aloof from the discus- 
sion were impaled on the sharp edges of 
rhetoric. The excited minister, who, in a 
moment of partisan ecstasy had said that 
he would turn his own mother from his 
door if she were a fugitive slave rather than 
break the law, never heard the end of it, 
and those who defended the " peculiar in- 
stitution " of the South on BibUcal grounds 
were held up to scorn. To a Southern cor- 
respondent who urged the curse of Ham 
in extenuation of slavery, Parker said, " Dear 
sir, Christianity does not consist in believ- 
ing stories in the Old Testament about 
Noah's curse, and all that, but in loving your 
brother as yourself, and God with your whole 
heart." 

Parker's advice to others he followed himself. 
When the fugitive slaves were sought for in 
Boston, and two of his parishioners, William 



THEODORE PARKER 253 

and Ellen Craft, were in danger of being taken 
back to slavery by a former owner, he helped 
in their escape, collecting money enough to 
send them to England. Parker was president 
of the Vigilance Committee formed in Bos- 
ton for the purpose of warning the slaves, 
and aiding in their protection and escape. 
He wrote a poster describing the slave-hunt- 
ers in thrilling language, warning the city 
against them. Then with a company of gen- 
tlemen he interviewed the slave-hunters, repre- 
senting to them the hopelessness of their 
undertaking, and the indignation of the city 
at their errand. They left at once. William 
and Ellen Craft were married by Parker 
before they set sail for England, committed to 
the charge of James Martineau. In an open 
letter to President Millard Fillmore he gave an 
account of the marriage ceremony, stating 
his own determination to break the law if it 
was necessary to protect his brethren who 
had been slaves : " William Craft and Ellen 
were parishioners of mine. They have been 
at my house. I married them a fortnight 
ago this day ; after the ceremony I put a 



2 54 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LEITERS 

Bible and then a sword into William's hands, 
and told him the use of each." 

The Vigilance Committee was kept wide 
awake when the fugitive Shadrach was seized 
by the United States officers on February 15, 
185 1. Headed by a member of the com- 
mittee, a crowd pushed into the room where 
the slave was confined and rescued him, hur- 
rying him off to Canada. Parker wrote in 
his diary, " I think it's the most noble deed 
done in Boston since the destruction of the 
tea in 1773. I thank God for it." The case 
of Thomas Sims caused even greater excite- 
ment, because he was legally given into the 
hands of the slave-owner and transported to 
South Carolina. Parker bore his testimony 
against the inhuman act at the time, and 
preached his famous discourse on " The Bos- 
ton Kidnapping " before the Vigilance Com- 
mittee "to commemorate the Rendition of 
Thomas Sims, delivered on the first anniver- 
sary thereof, April 12, 1852." He did not 
hesitate to tell the truth about the Boston 
sympathizers with the return of the fugitive 
slaves : " Boston capitaHsts do not hesitate 



THEODORE PARKER 255 

to own Southern plantations, and buy and 
sell men ; Boston merchants do not scruple 
to let their ships for the domestic slave-trade, 
and carry the child from his mother in Balti- 
more to sell him to a planter in Louisiana 
or Alabama; some of them glory in kid- 
napping their fellow-citizens in Boston. Most 
of the slave-ships in the Atlantic are com- 
manded by New England men. A few years 
ago one was seized by the British Govern- 
ment near Africa, 'full of slaves'; it was owned 
in Boston, had a 'clearance' from our har- 
bor, and left its name on the books of the 
insurance offices here. Why not, if the pro- 
tection of property be the great object of Gov- 
ernment . J' why not, if interest is before justice.-' 
why not, if the higher law of God is to be 
sneered at in state and church.''" 

When Anthony Burns was arrested in Bos- 
ton, May 24, 1854, claimed as a slave of one 
Suttle of Virginia, the city was stirred to 
its depth. A meeting of protest was held 
in Faneuil Hall, addressed by Theodore Parker 
and Wendell Phillips. The object was to arouse 
the people to such an extent that they would 



2 "56 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

\ 

rush upon the Court House and liberate the 
prisoner. A powerful platform speaker, Par- 
ker went beyond himself on this occasion. 
"We are the vassals of Virginia," he said, 
" she reaches her arm over the graves of our 
mothers, and kidnaps men in the city of the 
Puritans. Gentlemen, there is no Boston 
to-day. There was a Boston once, now there 
is a North Suburb to the city of Alexandria." 
A raid was made upon the Court House ; a 
deputy marshal was killed ; the militia was 
ordered out ; but the black man was sentenced 
and returned, amid thousands of sorrowing 
people, to his Southern owner, the church bells 
solemnly ringing and many of the houses 
being draped in black. Parker with others 
was arrested for compHcity in the attack. 
The charge, however, was dismissed, because 
of a defective indictment. So he was free to 
use his Sunday sermon as a trumpet call to 
arms to oppose " The New Crime against 
Humanity." It was a ringing sermon, pro- 
duced by an overwrought mind feeling keenly 
the outrage and defeat, yet eager to enlist 
the best elements of society in behalf of the 



THEODORE PARKER 257 

despised negro. The arguments were clear 
and well stated, and the passion was vehe- 
ment. This sermon with the other anti-slav- 
ery discourses was not allowed to pass into 
oblivion, but helped to form the two volumes 
of " Additional Speeches," which were dissemi- 
nated everywhere. His lectures, sometimes 
seventy in a year, delivered in various parts 
of the country, spread his influence broadcast. 
He may be reckoned as one of the important 
men who kept up the agitation on moral 
grounds against slavery. 

His voice and pen were again busy during 
the Kansas War. He aided the emigrants to 
pay their passage to Kansas and to buy arms 
to fight the "border ruffians." "I am more 
than ever of the opinion," he wrote, " that we 
must settle this question in the old Anglo- 
Saxon way, — by the sword. There are two 
constitutions for America, — one written on 
parchment, and laid up at Washington ; the 
other also on parchment, but on the head of 
a drum.'' True to these sentiments when John 
Brown came to Boston to obtain advice and 
money with which to carry on the free-state 



258 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

war in Kansas, Parker was a confidential 
adviser ; it is also more than conjecture that 
Brown unfolded to him some of his plans 
for the Virginia raid and the insurrection 
among the slaves. Parker was a member of 
the Boston Kansas Committee, and when, in 
1858, Brown secured from the committee the 
use of rifles for the defence of Kansas, more 
than one member of the committee, perhaps, 
knew that they might be used for other pur- 
poses. When the Virginia attack was made, 
ending in miserable failure and the exe- 
cution of Brown, the warlike minister of 
Music Hall was far away from his accus- 
tomed place. Mortal disease had seized him, 
but from his sickroom in Rome he wrote to 
America letters justifying the course that 
Brown had pursued. If he had been in Bos- 
ton he would have said the same things 
without any hesitation. In his letter to Mr. 
Francis Jackson reviewing John Brown's ex- 
pedition he upheld such propositions as that 
a slave has a right to kill every one who seeks 
to prevent his enjoyment of liberty and that 
it may be his duty so to kill, that a freeman 



THEODORE PARKER 259 

has a natural right to help the slaves to recover 
their liberty, and in doing so to aid them in 
killing such as oppose their natural freedom, 
and that the performance of this duty is to 
be governed by the freeman's power and op- 
portunity to help the slaves. In the course 
of the letter he expressed himself thus : " No 
American has died in this century whose 
chance of earthly immortality is worth half 
so much as John Brown's." 

Parker was not to be permitted to behold the 
rousing of the North during the Civil War 
when the chains of the slave were broken. By 
his incessant labors in the cause of freedom he 
had thrown away his strength. A whole night 
passed in a stagecoach in the midst of inun- 
dated meadows near Albany was his final death- 
blow. The hemorrhage that seized him just 
before his Sunday service on January 9, 1859, 
put an end to his public ministrations, and sent 
him forth to wander in search of health until 
he came to Florence, where on May 10, i860, 
he laid down the burden of life, having said to 
Frances Power Cobbe, who was near him in the 
last moments, those remarkable words, " There 



26o THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

are two Theodore Parkers now : one is dying 
here in Italy ; the other I have planted in 
America. He will live there and finish my 
work." 

There was something simple and direct about 
Theodore Parker; manly, courageous, conscien- 
tious; whatever he did was performed with a 
straight-a-way determination, like the farmer's 
lad that he was, as if he were ploughing a furrow. 
He could not be accused of self-seeking, for he 
always chose the unpopular side. With the 
instincts of a reformer he did not bandy words 
in the courtesies of life ; he was attacked in no 
smooth phrases and in returning the blow there 
was a natural lack of consideration as to the 
force of it. While he lost many friends by his 
course of action, he gained many. No one can 
read his rollicking letters, full of sprightliness 
and fun, with many a touch of affection, with- 
out seeing the happy side of his full life, rejoic- 
ing in friendships, and eager to render many 
little services. The parish duties connected 
with the Twenty-eighth Congregational Church 
were not modelled on those of the old established 
churches ; but they implied a fascinating min- 



THEODORE PARKER 26 I 

istry at large, dealing with all sorts of people, 
which kept Parker busy and gave him a strong 
hold upon those who needed him. 

As a literary man Parker, with the exception 
of brief editorial duties, almost always wrote 
addresses, orations, and sermons that were to 
be spoken. They all have, therefore, the mark 
of the orator's skill rather than that of the care- 
ful literary man seeking the best methods of 
expression. There are many short sentences 
and exclamations, many interrogations, all 
arranged to hold the attention of an audience. 
As orations are often the noblest form of litera- 
ture so these strong words of an earnest soul, 
dealing with the great questions that were mak- 
ing history, are more worthy of preservation 
than many a speech in Congress. There is 
in them a minute knowledge of history and an 
unusual ability in making historical parallels; 
and facts are massed so as to give them the 
greatest force. Character sketch as well as 
invective is used to emphasize a point or fit- 
tingly describe a person ; while sarcasm and 
humor play an important part. " After one 
has beaten the single barley-corn of good sense 



262 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

out of a whole wagon-load of chaff, the easiest 
way to be rid of the rubbish," he said, " is to 
burn it up with the lightning of wit." Carrying 
out this suggestion, he would make remarks 
like the following, which were sure to be 
quoted : " Ministers ought to be ordained on 
horse-back, because they are to remain so short 
a time in one place. It would be as emblematic 
to inaugurate American politicians by swearing 
them on a weather cock." 

Next to the books, the letters can be classed 
as literature. He was a great correspondent, 
writing to many of the most prominent men of 
the day, and having a few persons to whom he 
was a regular letter writer. These private 
letters abound in brilliant sayings, and often 
lead one to decide that in these unrestrained 
methods of writing many of his best thoughts 
were created. He did much of his thinking in 
letters. The public letters, like those to George 
Bancroft, Millard Fillmore, and Seward, and 
to his congregation after he had left them for 
the last time, are more conventional ; but at 
times these bubble over with his irrepressible 
spirits. The letters are full of characteristic 



THEODORE PARKER 263 

sentences. Speaking of the study of history to 
a young student he says : " It is not of much 
importance to know whether General Fairfax 
charged up hill or down hill, wore a blue 
feather or a red one, or whether his military 
breeches were of plush or fustian ; but it is of 
great importance to know what ideas were in 
his head, or in the heads of his opponents, and 
of his soldiers, and what organization those ideas 
got in the world ; " of himself, " I live in taverns, 
move in railroad cars, and have my being in the 
Music Hall and other places of public speaking. 
I am not a skylark, but ' a wandering voice.' " 

Of greater value than the letters, is the pri- 
vate journal. He early formed the habit of 
keeping a diary, in which he wrote his most 
secret thoughts. The motives behind his ac- 
tion, the processes of reasoning, the changes 
of attitude that were gradually coming, are here 
to be seen in a remarkably real way. Certain 
things were put into it which could not be 
printed at the time, as, in one case, he wrote 
"to be printed in 1899, as a memorial of the 
nineteenth century." The journal has never 
been printed as a whole. It seems as if it 



264 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

should be, for it would throw much light on the 
period during which it was written. Particularly 
concerning the first European trip, the journal 
contains many fine and critical passages. In a 
comparison between the Venus of Milo and the 
Venus de Medici, it is recorded that "the toy- 
ivjviaji came to her perfect flower in the Medi- 
ccan Venus : that is all she is, — woman as a 
plaything, a bawble woman, voluptuous, but not 
offensive directly to the conscience. It is only 
after much reflection that you say ' Get thee 
behind me ! ' But the Venus of Milo is 2. glori- 
ous Jiiiman arattire, made for all the events of 
life." A passage on Venice is worth remem- 
bering, as the city of color and silence and re- 
flected beauty stole into the heart of the writer: 
"Venice is a dream of the sea. Occidental 
science and Oriental fantasy seem to have 
united to produce it. A pagan Greek might 
say that Neptune, drunk with nectar and 
Aphrodite, slept in the caves of the sea, and 
dreamed as he slept : Venice is the petrifaction 
of his dream. The sun colors curiously the 
walls of her palaces and churches ; it seems as 
if their wealth had run over, and stained the 



THEODORE PARKER 265 

walls." Of political and religious opinions, the 
journal is full ; but they are in a line with his 
public statements, often more pointed and with 
less regard for conventionality. 

The occasional poems and translations, while 
showing an interest in poetry, never rose above 
a very ordinary level. They seem to have been 
inspired principally by religious subjects. In 
them, and his more formal prayers, are best to 
be seen his moments of meditation and devo- 
tion. Sonnets, songs, blank verse lyrics, and 
little quatrains of verse were written all 
through his life, but as a pastime or to hold 
some fleeting mood. In youth they bore such 
titles as "An Evening Hymn," "Reflections at 
Midnight," "To a Little Flower," "A Sere- 
nade." At a later date they were distinctly 
religious, and, during the last years, were often 
translations from the German poets, especially 
Heine. He took great pains with them, think- 
ing they were better than much of his more 
serious work. But they are halting in versifi- 
cation, with little imagination, and lack any ele- 
ment of permanent strength. "The Evening 
Hymn " begins : — 



266 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

" The chiming of the evening breeze 
That plays among the boughs; 

The ripple of the purple seas, 
As night her mantle throws ; 

The unveiling of each timid star 
That sheds its beauty from afar, 

All these have voices for mine ear." 

In the fourteen line poems, which hardly 
merit the name sonnet, there are better lines : — 

" Thy truth is still the light 
Which guides the nations groping on their way, 
Stumbling and falling in disastrous night, 
Yet hoping ever for the perfect day." 

And in a blank verse stanza : — 

"For the sad sense of human woe is deep 
Within my heart, and deepens daily there." 

Or when writing of the ending of his days, 

" Well, I shall lay my bones 
In some sharp crevice of the broken way." 

It is hardly fair to give any prominence to 
Parker's poetry. He was a man of action. 
His words were deeds, and he swung his pen 
as if it had been a sword. Before he was put 
to rest in the little Protestant cemetery in Flor- 
ence, where he found a lonely grave, he wrote 
to his constant friend, George Ripley, a letter 



THEODORE PARKER 26/ 

which showed how he rated the work of his 
life : — 

" O, George ! the life I am here slowly drag- 
ging to an end — tortuous, but painless — is a 
life, very imperfect, and fails of much I meant 
to hit and might have reached, nay should, had 
there been ten or twenty years more left for 
me ! But on the whole, it has not been a mean 
life, measured by the common run of men ; 
never a selfish one. Above all things else, I 
have sought to teach the true idea of man, of 
God, of religion with its truths, its duties, and 
its joys. I never fought for myself, nor against 
a private foe ; but have gone into the battle of 
the nineteenth century, and followed the flag of 
humanity." 



CHAPTER VIII 

HORACE BUSHNELL 

Once, on a stray piece of paper, Horace 
Bushnell wrote in pencil a fragment of biog- 
raphy, in which he described his life. " I have 
never been a great agitator, " he said, " never 
pulled a wire to get the will of men, never did 
a politic thing. It was not for this reason, but 
because I was looked upon as a singularity — 
not exactly sane, perhaps, in many things — 
that I was almost never a president or vice- 
president of any society, and almost never on 
a committee. . . . But still it has been a great 
thing even for me to have lived." If there 
ever was a man, independent, self-reliant, dis- 
daining schemes, speaking the truth as he con- 
ceived it, and creating the antagonism o/ little 
minds, it was this man who never was on a 
committee, nor president of anything. He 
did not work well with any yoke-fellow, and 
268 



HORACE BUSHNELL 269 

always spoke his own mind without regard to 
the opinions of any one who might take him to 
task. For these reasons, among others, he was 
never on a committee, but caused a good many 
committees to be formed to consider him. His 
singularity of opinion and the vigor with which 
he expressed it, bred much disquietude in the 
Hartford Central Association, and to those 
who write letters to religious periodicals, and to 
the race of pamphleteers. " But still it has 
been a great thing even for me to live," he 
said. Great indeed to have a rugged soul 
face to face with life and human thought, 
and man's government, and man's faith ; and 
without fear, not confused by the many voices 
about, looking steadily, yet reverently into the 
heart of truth. Such men dwell alone. If 
they give their message to the world in vari- 
ous forms, sometimes with impatience, even 
rudeness, sometimes with obscurity, and again 
with the fervor of exalted expression too subtle 
for all to understand, it is because of their iso- 
lation and ignorance, perhaps, of the propri- 
eties by reason of absorption in something 
higher than etiquette. It is a great thing to 



270 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

have such a man Hve, even if he is self-confi- 
dent, irritating, and heretical. 

Such a Ufe gives an impulse to everything 
it deals with, the college where he studies, the 
community where he lives, the church that he 
has chosen, the state and the country which he 
loves. So Horace Bushnell has left his mark 
wherever he has gone : at Yale College, in Hart- 
ford, in New England, in California, through- 
out America, as his speeches and books have 
reached through the land. Political science, 
education, ethics, theology, the making of his- 
tory, — all have received something from his 
thought and work. 

Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, April 14, 
1802, and living in Hartford, as minister of 
the North Church until his retirement in 1859, 
and after this until his death, with short resi- 
dences elsewhere, Horace Bushnell was pecul- 
iarly a Connecticut man. His early days were 
passed in one of those " primitive universities 
of homespun," as he described such a humble 
home as his father's, where hard manual work 
was dignified by sturdy character and religious 
training. He did a man's work early, and built 



HORACE BUSHNELL 27 1 

for recreation the stone dam above his father's 
carding mill. The mother was the household 
power, whose sacrifices he afterward said "were 
scarcely to be noted without tears." In college 
he was looked upon as a remarkable man. His 
tutor wrote, " Few men have left on my mind 
impressions of their personal identity more 
clear and abiding." He was strong of physique, 
tall, muscular, with a head of unusual size 
covered with black hair; and a ruddy com- 
plexion, with deep-set gray eyes, — one of the 
type of masterful young men that occasionally 
a college class numbers among its members, 
good at athletics and in the class room, lead- 
ers in debate who make the current political 
issues vital, founders of musical societies, and 
sometimes rebellious against authority. Young 
Bushnell was of this kind, debating the Mis- 
souri Compromise and whether the President 
ought to be elected directly by the people, 
founding the Beethoven Musical Society, and 
rusticated because of revolt against an unfair 
examination that included a portion of Conic 
Sections that had been omitted in the course. 
After graduation he taught for a brief time, 



2/2 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

then made a brilliant success on the Journal of 
Commerce, New York, returning to New Haven 
as a tutor and preparing to study law, and later 
entering the ministry. 

The story of Bushnell's life has few dra- 
matic incidents in it, nor was it varied by noted 
friendships or residence in many places. He 
remained the faithful minister of the North 
Church in Hartford from his settlement, 1833, 
until his withdrawal because of ill-health in 
1859, from which date until his death on Feb- 
ruary 17, 1876, he enjoyed a ministry at large, 
preaching on many important occasions and 
writing some of his best-known books. A trip 
to Europe, one to Cuba, and visits to California 
and Minnesota in search of health were espe- 
cially delightful to him, and stored his mind 
with fresh illustrations and widened his sym- 
pathies. He dwelt for many years in his house 
in Hartford which he designed, and where he 
passed the greater part of days of research and 
study. 

Ill health pursued him, and after a severe 
strain of work he was forced to remain idle 
for a time, though his appearance was far from 



HORACE BUSHNELL 2/3 

that of a delicate man. As Carlyle said of 
John Sterling : " Less than any man he gave 
you the idea of ill health. Ill health ? Nay ; 
you found out at last it was the very excess of 
life in him that brought on disease." He had 
an abundance of vitality even in his sickness. 
When abroad for rest he could not remain 
inactive. In London during the Oregon boun- 
dary discussion, he wrote an important pamphlet 
to explain the American position. During this 
same visit in Europe he did a most characteris- 
tic thing. When deeply interested in Italian 
independence, he wrote his " Letter to the 
Pope," which was of sufficient account to be 
translated into Italian and placed on the Index 
Expurgatorius. His keen observation of men 
and events is displayed in his letters from 
abroad. He found that Lord John Russell 
said " havin' and walkin' " ; and of Thiers as an 
orator he remarked upon his " husky but shrill 
treble, John Randolph-wise voice," but found 
him full of enthusiasm and " gesturing up and 
down with both hands as fast as he could." 

But this was play. His serious work was 
great in quantity and in quality. Besides his 



2/4 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

regular sermons he prepared orations and 
addresses to be delivered before societies and 
educational institutions. He was much sought 
after as a special preacher. He spoke before 
the New England Society, and delivered the 
^.B.K. oration and Commencement addresses 
at Yale. He never failed to observe the civil 
anniversaries, and when questions of political 
moment were before the people he always 
lifted up his voice with a message. The work 
of such a ministry is not confined to the 
weekly sermon or the parish calls, as impor- 
tant as these are ; and when the sermon is 
vital and deals with present conditions it be- 
comes an opportunity for a wise man with a 
well-stored mind to touch upon a great range 
of subjects. The themes of the pulpit are not 
limited, but whatever touches the intellectual 
or moral nature of man comes in for discussion. 
What chances there are to bring to hearers 
history, poetry, philosophy, ideal dreams of a 
regenerated society, and to infuse into them 
inspiration and faith ! Then, besides these 
regular discourses, there are the special occa- 
sions and the printing of books to disseminate 



HORACE BUSHNELL 275 

one's thoughts more broadly. To Bushnell a 
special occasion was the signal for the use of 
his best powers. He threw into the prepara- 
tion for it his greatest energy, and many of his 
most forcible utterances thus became known. 
At other times his pen was not idle, for he 
loved to express what was in him. He there- 
fore published many books. They consist 
chiefly of pamphlets containing special dis- 
courses, inspired by some topic of current in- 
terest, volumes of sermons carefully prepared, 
books on moral questions, and theological 
treatises, — all remarkable for freshness of 
treatment, independence of thought, a wealth 
of illustration, keen reasoning, and passages of 
genuine eloquence. They are full of epigram 
and common sense, marked by a breadth of 
view and wide sympathies, ingenious and, 
above all, interesting either to listen to or to 
read. They have signs of life, even to exuber- 
ance, rough at times, and with the vigor of a 
wielded sabre or the blows of a hammer. 

A man who had served his time in a news- 
paper office and who seriously thought of 
studying law with a view to a possible political 



276 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

future could not long hold aloof from a discus- 
sion of political questions. As early as 1839 
he delivered on the subject of slavery an 
important sermon which was freely circu- 
lated. It had in it none of the passion 
of the an ti- slavery movement, but was an 
attempt to reason with his Southern brethren 
and for a moment to take their point of view. 
He saw that nothing could be gained by stir- 
ring up anger on either side, and he felt that 
if the evils were temperately shown, not by 
reference to special cases of wrong, but by 
indicating what the law permitted as wrong 
in principle, and then appealing to the South 
to modify its own institution, he would accom- 
plish more than by ill-considered condemnation. 
The denial of marriage rites to the slave, with 
no protection to life or limb or chastity, and 
the ignoring of a moral or intellectual nature 
in the slave, were the special points dwelt upon. 
To show his lack of sympathy with the aboli- 
tionists and the futility of their methods, he 
exclaimed : "If I were a Southern legislator I 
should think it my first duty to save the 
sovereignty of my state, and I would never 



HORACE BUSHNELL 2/7 

SO far humble it as to vote for the abolition 
of slavery at the beck of a Northern associa- 
tion." The abolitionists were in error because 
they attempted to drive the slave owner as 
the overseer drives the negroes, and the first 
sin of the organization "was a sin of ill man- 
ners. They did not go to work like Christian 
gentlemen." In explanation of the attitude of 
the clergy toward the abolitionists it was stated 
that " the clergy have been thrown into a false 
position. Many of them have seen and pitied 
the sad mixture of false opinion which has 
been at work in this movement. They have 
attempted to drive the clergy. They would 
feel, in fact, that an identification with your 
society would be only throwing themselves into 
the worst possible position for acting with 
effect." 

In later years, when the slavery question 
became more acute, Bushnell again and again 
spoke upon the subject. The Fast Day ser- 
mon of 1844 on "Politics under the Law of 
God," as he was fond of remarking, "made a 
breeze." The Whigs in the congregation were 
very much disturbed and thought their minister 



2/8 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

was dealing with subjects outside the Gospel. 
He did not hesitate to refer to Mr, Clay's 
aspirations for the Presidency and condemned 
him because of the Missouri Compromise. The 
sermon was printed and used as a campaign 
document, and circulated so generally that the 
remark of an expert was probably true when 
he stated that Bushnell struck Mr. Clay such 
a blow that it cost him ten thousands of votes. 
As a remarkable analysis of the relations 
between the North and the South a few years 
before the Civil War, the sermon on " Northern 
Iron," preached in 1854, is a good example. 
The text contains one of those powerful figures 
that Jeremiah so often uses, " Shall iron break 
the northern iron and steel .'* " The application 
is obvious : Is the iron will of the North to be 
broken by the political methods of the South } 
The Northern blood needs strengthening. The 
dignity of Northern power demands assertion. 
Bushnell saw the possibility of the strife ahead, 
but it was faced with confidence as to the issue. 
Whatever might come, war or disaster, there 
was a splendid faith in the description of the 
" Northern Iron " as the true democratic ele- 



HORACE BUSHNELL 279 

ment in American history, which "is in the 
people, the unsophisticated people, and it is just 
as certain to assert its powers and come out 
in the unfolding of life as a tree to bear fruit 
in its kind." There was never a wavering from 
the thought that slavery would be destroyed, 
and one of the strongest signs that pointed to 
the annihilation was the fact that literature and 
scholarship were arrayed against it; "for what 
people were ever able for any length of time 
to withstand the supremacy and fight off the 
ideas of their own literature ? " It was noted 
with equal confidence that the theatre-goers 
who took no interest in what went on in the 
churches "have been hearing Uncle Tom and 
weeping with him night after night." 

The exhibition of such sturdy manhood in 
upholding the right must have been felt through 
many communities. Such words created opin- 
ion, and kept the people with steady gaze on 
the principle at stake. They were heard by the 
future captains of regiments, and talked about 
among the enlisted men to be. It is something 
to have the lofty principle of a nation's history 
interpreted frequently for men and voices speak- 



28o THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

ing truth amid the confusion of political conflict. 
In the midst of the fanaticism and hysterics it 
was good to have a well-balanced set of men 
who were just as earnest as the extremists but 
more rational in their attitudes. Those were 
the men w^ho possessed the nation ; when the 
trial came, the wisdom of their opinions became 
more apparent. 

After the disaster of Bull Run, when the 
nation was humiliated, Bushnell's calmness of 
attitude was again illustrated by his discourse 
on " Reverses Needed." He was always try- 
ing to find the bright and positive side of a 
failure, feeling sure that the meaning did not 
lie on the surface, but was below. The defeat 
of Bull Run was necessary he thought to unite 
the people of the North, to kindle a new alle- 
giance, to make the cause seem more sacred. 
"There must be tears in the houses," he said, 
"as well as blood in the fields. In these, and 
such terrible throes, the true loyalty is born." 

Another of the civic questions that Bushnell 
dealt with in a public way was the appropria- 
tion of money to the parochial schools. The 
schools were to him as important as the arse- 



HORACE BUSHNELL 28 1 

nals or armed defences of the country, the 
foundation of the social order. Any attack 
upon them was met by firm resistance. Paro- 
chial schools were no more than private schools, 
and it would be unwise to give money from the 
public fund to local and private institutions. 
It might be demanded next that the state 
should support schools to teach Paine's " Age 
of Reason" or the Mormon Bible. "We tax," 
he said, "the Quakers for defect of military 
service, bachelors who have no children, and 
we ought to tax the refractory un-American." 

He thought on the whole that there was a 
good deal of cant in the complaint of godless 
education, for he said that if the Bible was 
excluded from the schools, " I would yet under- 
take, if I could have my liberty as a teacher, 
to communicate more of real Christian truth 
to a Catholic and a Protestant boy seated side 
by side, in the regulation of their treatment of 
each other as related in terms of justice and 
charity." 

Dr. Bushnell's interest in education was put 
to practical uses when in search of health 
he spent some years in California. The new 



282 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

country delighted him with its picturesque 
pioneer life, and he thought of resigning his 
church and settling in the far West as Presi- 
dent of the College of California, to which 
position he was called in 1856. He actually 
assumed the duties of the office without salary 
for a time, declining to serve finally in 1861, 
as in 1840 he had refused the Presidency of 
Middlebury College. In the meantime he de- 
voted himself to the selection of a site for the 
college, visiting many places and publishing 
appeals for the support of the institution. He 
spent a good deal of time " in examining views 
and prospects ; exploring water courses, deter- 
mining their levels ; inquiring and even prospect- 
ing to form some judgment of the probabilities 
of railroads." An illustration of his practical 
good sense is given in the fact that the college 
was located as he advised, and the route of the 
Pacific Railroad which he selected was the one 
adopted. 

His interest in local matters was shown by 
his efforts to secure a beautiful park for Hart- 
ford, which was named after him. Through 
years of opposition he at last succeeded in 



HORACE BUSHNELL 283 

turning an unattractive area of the city into an 
extensive and well-ordered park, the pride of 
all the inhabitants. He appeared in person 
before the city council, and outlined for them 
on a large map his plan. The members were 
opposed to him at first, but were won over to 
his view; and by his persistence, in having 
bills even introduced into the Legislature, he 
attained his object. In after years it was com- 
mon for him to hear some of his former oppo- 
nents say, " After all, the best investment our 
city has ever made is the Park." 

No one had a greater love than he for his 
native state of Connecticut, its history, tradi- 
tions, and accomplishments. When he was 
invited to address the Legislature on the occa- 
sion of the opening of the Normal School in 
185 1, he delivered a notable oration on the 
theme, " Historical Estimate of Connecticut." 
It was a well-considered survey of what the 
state had stood for. He took the subject be- 
cause he had often felt that there was a want 
of public feeling in the state. The result was 
an address of great power and judgment ; and 
the people must have been stimulated to give 



284 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

evidence of a new public spirit. Historical 
analysis showed clearly that the term "blue- 
law state " in no wise described Connecticut, 
and that the so-called blue laws were the inven- 
tion of a Tory renegade, Samuel Peters, and 
were as false as the stories of the wooden nut- 
megs. Connecticut never had a royal gov- 
ernor, and the independence of the colony was 
such that no officer dared to sell any of the 
stamps of the Stamp Tax within its borders. 
The claim was made that the colony, only 
three years after its settlement, formed the 
model of the first American Constitution by 
providing for elective franchise not limited to 
church members ; that the oath of allegiance 
was made not to king or parliament, but 
directly to the state, and that Connecticut con- 
tributed the Federative idea to the Constitution. 
At the hands of the historians Connecticut 
has never received her due, and it was in 
the interests of truth that Bushnell contended 
that the Ticonderoga expedition was projected 
by Connecticut, and executed by her men, 
Massachusetts only assisting, and that Putnam 
was the leader at Bunker Hill. This oration, 



HORACE BUSHNELL 285 

together with one on "The Age of Home- 
spun," set forth better than in formal history 
the stern virtues of Connecticut, the nursing 
mother of great men, who from the farm.s and 
the cottages on the hillside went forth into 
other regions to bless them. In the latter 
oration he described the heroes of homespun : 
" When the hard, wiry-looking patriarch of 
homespun sets off for Hartford or Bridgeport 
to exchange the little surplus of his year's pro- 
duction, carrying his provision with him and 
the fodder of his team, and taking his boy 
along to show him the great world, you may 
laugh at the simplicity, or pity, if you will, the 
sordid look of the picture ; but five or ten years 
hence, this boy will, like enough, be found in 
college, digging out the cent's worth of his 
father's money in hard study ; and some twenty 
years later he will be returning, in his honors 
as a celebrated judge or governor, or senator 
and public orator, from some one of the great 
states of the Republic." 

In his estimate of Connecticut there was 
no narrowness, for he could equally see the 
greatness of the fathers of New England. 



286 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

This was his topic when he delivered the ora- 
tion before the New England Society of New 
York in 1849. ^^ ^^^^ that they had been 
overpraised in assigning to them a knowledge 
of what they were founding, with a prophet- 
ical vision of the whole fabric of the future 
government. " The Founders Great in their 
Unconsciousness " was his special subject, and 
he had his sarcasm ready for those who sup- 
pose " the world to be a kind of professor's 
chair and expect events to transpire logically 
in it." The fathers came not to found a 
democracy nor a republic, but they accepted 
their present duty, and out of that grew the 
future. In this oration occurs one of his 
most eloquent passages : " They came not with 
any conscious or designing agency in those 
great political and social issues which we now 
look upon as the crowning distinctions of our 
history. Their ideal was not in these. Some- 
times we smile at their simplicity, finding 
that the highest hope they conceived was 
nothing but the hope of some good issue for 
religion. We wonder that they could not have 
had some conception of the magnificent re- 



HORACE BUSHNELL 287 

suits of liberty and social order here to be 
revealed. We want them to be heroes, but 
we cannot allow them to be heroes of faith. 
But it will sometimes be discovered that in 
actual hfe there are two kinds of heroes — 
heroes for the visible and heroes for the in- 
visible ; they that see their mark hung out as 
a flag on some turret or battlement, and they 
that see it nowhere save in the grand ideal 
of the inward life; the extempore heroes 
fighting out a victory definitely seen in some- 
thing near at hand ; and the life-long, cen- 
tury-long heroes that are instigated by no 
ephemeral crown or ephemeral passion, but 
have sounded the deep bass-work of God's 
principle and have dared calmly to rest their 
all upon it, come the issue where it may or 
when it may or in what form God will give 
it." 

The civic question that brought forth more 
of a book from Bushnell than the usual 
pamphlet was " Woman's Suffrage." He had 
taken a great dislike to the idea of giving 
the franchise to women. The title of the 
book alone was a contribution to the opposi- 



288 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

tion arguments, and was more influential than 
the book itself. It was called " Reform 
against Nature." This phrase went every- 
where, and confirmed the objectors and won 
new adherents to the cause of conservatism, 
through it was strange that in this instance 
he should have been called a conservative, 
when in everything else he was generally con- 
sidered most radical. But his chivalry and con- 
ception of the purity of the home and woman's 
refined and delicate position in life made him 
feel that it would be a loss to the world to 
brush aside the bloom and flower of feminine 
aloofness from the sordid struggle of men 
for political honors. Nature had designed 
the two individuals to play different and sup- 
plementary parts. Let the man have his 
field in war, politics, and commerce, where he 
is fitted to use his power, and the woman 
reign in the home, in the field of charity, of 
music, and poetry. There was a reform that 
he was willing to admit, viz., women should 
be given more of a chance to make advances 
toward marriage ; and coeducation seemed 
more feasible to him since he visited Oberlin 



HORACE BUSHNELL 289 

and Antioch College where it was said that 
the influence of the young women was such 
that "male students were first called gentle- 
men at Antioch." The book is an example 
of special pleading throughout, and has the 
advantage of massing in a convenient form the 
anti-suffrage arguments. Though there are 
many imaginary and fantastic dangers in- 
vented, he is not able to withstand the prog- 
ress of the newer conception of womanhood. 
A woman has a right to make her own liv- 
ing. She may study a profession, but there 
are limitations. A woman may study law, 
but not address a jury, or make a speech in 
the courtroom. She may practise medicine, 
but not surgery. " Reform against Nature " 
will remain a curiosity of what a progres- 
sive mind can do in the matter of conser- 
vatism when the emotions are touched rather 
than the reason. 

These political books and addresses of Dr. 
Bushnell reveal thoroughness of research and 
an intimate knowledge of contemporary condi- 
tions. They show him as the citizen, loving his 
city, and state, and country, the spokesman of 



290 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

the conscience of many, and the guide to their 
political thinking. They contain pointed sen- 
tences that stick, winged words that fly. While 
his civil interests were great, his ethical and 
religious interests were greater. He was a 
religious and moral teacher, but one who could 
not help applying his principle to life; so even 
his most abstruse theological reasonings become 
clear as appeals to a common humanity, which 
has its days to live in the streets and houses 
of an intricate civilization. 

As a minister of religion. Dr. Bushnell's 
principal literary work was contained in his 
sermons. They were always written with great 
care, until later in life he was forced to extempo- 
rize, because of his many duties and delicacy 
of health. The sermons were collected into 
volumes, and through them he preached to ever 
larger and more enthusiastic congregations. 
When they were delivered from the pulpit 
there was always behind them the force of his 
nervous personality, emphasized by the favorite 
swing of his right arm from the shoulder, but 
when read they lose none of their power. 
They were written in the heat of thought, and 



HORACE BUSHNELL 29 I 

carry with them the glow of earnestness. 
Sometimes the effect of a sermon was not 
what he intended, as when, for instance, he 
preached the doctrine that our earthly employ- 
ments would be continued in the next world, 
and thus greatly disturbed an undertaker by 
making him feel that there would be nothing 
for him to do throughout eternity ; and an old 
woman was heard to remark, " Well, if heaven is 
such a place for work, I don't care to go there, 
I hoped I should rest." The principal volumes 
of sermons were " Christ and His Salvation," 
** Sermons on Living Subjects," and " Sermons 
for the New Life." The last was the most 
famous and gained for him the reputation of a 
great preacher, great in originality, in spiritual 
power, in imagery, and eloquent in appeal. 
These sermons justify the appreciation of one 
of his most scholarly hearers, who said that his 
" emotions from the depth of a passionate nature 
bore him sometimes to the highest flights of elo- 
quence, and wit and sarcasm flashed from his talk 
and speeches, and he stood the most indepen- 
dent and muscular sermonizer in the American 
pulpit." The sermons were not controversial, 



292 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

nor considered heretical by his fiercest opponents, 
some of whom wrote him letters of approval. 

The controversy and opposition, however, 
that raged around him for many years were 
caused by his distinctively theological works, 
such as " God in Christ," " Christian Nurture," 
" Vicarious Sacrifice," and " Nature and the 
Supernatural." When each of these was pub- 
lished a storm of editorials and pamphlets in 
reply or in condemnation broke over his head. 
From college days he had felt a lack of sym- 
pathy with the current orthodoxy of the old 
school and determined to examine the Christian 
doctrines in the light of a more intelligent 
exegesis, and in accordance with the dictates of 
reason. He knew that he would be misinter- 
preted, that his motives would be assailed, and 
that he would draw down upon himself the 
violent wrath of the acknowledged custodians 
of the faith. It would be said that he was a 
Unitarian and should no longer be recognized 
as a Congregational clergyman. He considered 
what this antagonism would mean, and he did 
not speak until he was fully prepared, not with 
immature thought, but as a result of hard work 



HORACE BUSHNELL 293 

and prolonged study. When he saw the dan- 
ger of his attitude for freedom of discussion 
he wrote his wife, " Has my dear wife any of 
Luther's spirit? Will she enter into hazards 
and reproaches and perhaps privations which 
lie in this encounter for the truth?" Happily 
the privations did not come, because his church 
in Hartford stood by him, and many of the 
strongest of his ministerial friends defended 
him ; though one of the deacons of his church 
wrote him a letter of remonstrance, expressing 
his pain that he now, for the first time, differed 
from his pastor " on doctrines concerning which 
his own views have not changed for the last 
thirty years." 

The first evidence of this independent 
thought was an address at Andover Seminary 
on " Revelation " in 1839. As he told his friend, 
Dr. Cyrus Bartol, " he had many questions 
hanging on pegs, to take down as their turn 
should come." These questions he was in- 
vited to discuss at the Divinity School in Har- 
vard University, in the Phi Beta Kappa oration 
at Cambridge, in addresses at Yale College, 
and elsewhere. 



294 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

One of these questions he discussed in his 
book on " Christian Nurture," published in 
1846. The manuscript was submitted to the 
Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and 
after some hesitation, because of the novelty 
of treatment of the subject of the child's reli- 
gious training, it was accepted and printed. 
The book was attacked so vigorously that the 
Society suppressed it, fearing its dangerous 
tendencies. Then Dr. Bushnell republished it 
himself with a communication to the Society 
in which he frankly announced to the members, 
" Whether you will believe it or not, a new 
day has come. If we will, we can make it 
a better day." In some respects "Christian 
Nurture " is the most important of Dr. Bush- 
nell's books. It applied intelligent methods to 
child education, and with wisdom and love dealt 
with the rights of childhood, and the best 
methods of training the young life in Chris- 
tian nurture. The growth of the child in a 
Christian home, influenced by the character of 
the parents, and the unfolding of its true nature 
under the guidance of moral and religious sur- 
roundings, were considered of more importance 



HORACE BUSHNELL 295 

than the crisis of a forced or hypocritical 
conversion. It had previously been taught in 
New England households that the child was a 
depraved being who, through a confession of 
sin as an outcast, must be reconciled to God 
before in any sense he could become a Chris- 
tian. The child's mind was filled with the 
teaching about the fall of the race, the total 
depravity of man, and the intricacies of the 
Calvinistic doctrines of atonement. The result 
was that children were given ideas that they 
could not in any way understand, and thus they 
were kept from the true joys of a manly and 
genuine religious experience. There was also 
a system of repression by which the children 
were forever being prohibited from doing some- 
thing, and this hardened and discouraged them. 
This constant prohibition did not stop as Dr. 
Bushnell said "with the ten commandments, 
like the word of Sinai, but it kept the thunder 
up." His desire was that children should be 
trained in such a way that, like Richard Baxter, 
they might never remember the time when 
they began to be religious. To effect this 
training it was necessary to emphasize the or- 



296 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

ganic relations of the family and to set forth 
the truth that the nurture of the soul is to begin 
with the nurture of the body, for the " child 
after birth is still within the matrix of the 
parental life and will be more or less for many 
years." Kindness and sweetness were as 
necessary in the home as food and clothing ; 
and a rebuke was administered to many par- 
ents when he intimated that persons might be 
noted for their piety and still be very disagree- 
able. On the other hand love was not sufficient 
when it was unintelligent, for he pointed out 
that mere natural affection was nothing more 
than incompetency as an equipment for the 
parental office. 

The whole trend of " Christian Nurture " was 
so far away from the established methods of 
dealing with children that it seemed to many 
the manifesto of a dangerous revolution. With 
the suggestion of a set of playthings on the 
Sabbath, though the toys were to be sacred 
ones, representing points of religious history, 
Bushnell's reputation for orthodoxy was gone, 
and he became free game for the attacks of 
the country brethren. 



HORACE BUSHNELL 297 

On top of this came his next important theo- 
logical book, " God in Christ," containing two ad- 
dresses, one delivered at the Harvard Divinity 
School, and another at Yale, prefaced by an essay 
on " Language." The whole book was free in 
its treatment of religious doctrine, and was open 
to the charge of unsoundness because of its ob- 
scurity and low estimate of human language as 
a vehicle for theological definition, as well as an 
apparent lapse into Unitarianism. Boldness of 
criticism was evident in the position that lan- 
guage is a mere sign and image of the thought, 
and not an equivalent of truth, and that the 
multiplication of opinions and sects was the 
result of false views of language. The positive 
Christian conception that dominated the book 
was the reflection of his own thought which 
had deepened and become intense, as he set 
forth Christ as the indwelling life of the soul, 
the new creating power of righteousness for 
humanity. The divinity of Christ and the 
atonement were the two principal themes ; and 
he contended that his views were a return to 
a true orthodoxy anterior to the New England 
thought which was comparatively new. This 



298 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

was a favorite position with him which he as- 
serted again and again in "Vicarious Sacrifice" 
and elsewhere, as he expounded the views of 
the early fathers and such theologians as 
Anselm. "I seem to myself," he wrote, "to 
assert nothing which is not substantial ortho- 
doxy, — that which contains the real moment 
of all our orthodox formulas unabridged." This 
was not enough, however, for many of his fellow- 
ministers, who in reviews and letters and public 
speech disputed his right to be recognized as 
a member of their association. The attacks 
that came from the New York Evangelist and 
Princeton Review soon focussed in the action 
of the Hartford Central Association, where 
attempts were made to present Dr. Bushnell 
for trial on the charge of heresy ; and this fail- 
ing, a series of subsequent efforts was made 
by the association of " Fairfield West " in its 
endeavors to force the General Association of 
Connecticut to discipline the heretic. But Dr. 
Bushnell had strong friends, among them being 
Dr. Porter, afterward President of Yale Col- 
lege, who upheld his right to free discussion 
and a place in the association. During this 



HORACE BUSHNELL 299 

very trying time of criticism, for the most part 
Dr. Bushnell kept silent, following his pub- 
lished plan not to be drawn into argument, 
knowing that there would be a religious con- 
troversy, and consequently asserting, " I adver- 
tise it beforehand, to prevent a misconstruction 
of my silence, that I am silenced now on the 
publication of my volume." 

It was not that Bushnell was desirous of 
denying the accepted belief of the churches, 
but when it conflicted with what he considered 
the rational common sense or even emotional 
view of the doctrine or the teaching, his nature 
revolted. The truth must be as real in man's 
nature as in a book, and the book, even if most 
sacred, is only an imperfect medium for the 
transmission of the truth to the human soul. 
The words were mere suggestions of something 
greater than the words ; or, as he expressed it, 
Christianity was " a gift to the imagination," 
as well as to the faith and the reason. The 
emotional and poetic part of life must be ap- 
pealed to, and when aroused it can enjoy the 
revelation which has been given. This imagi- 
native and. poetic treatment is well illustrated 



300 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

throughout all his books, but especially in the 
" Moral Uses of Dark Things," wherein he 
discovers the uses of such dark things as bad 
government, of plagues and pestilences, of in- 
sanity, of the changes of life, and of things 
"unsightful and disgustful." While evil is con- 
sidered necessary in order to understand the 
good, as in the case of bad government, "it is 
simply letting society and man be what they 
are to show what they are," yet there are many 
fanciful interpretations which can only be con- 
sidered true in the way of analogy or in illus- 
tration. There is a beautiful exhibition of this 
power in " Vicarious Sacrifice," where he urges 
that wherever there is love there must be 
vicarious sacrifice, and he finds the truth of 
the doctrine, not in any thought of a debt paid 
or a measured amount of suffering borne, but 
in the universality of the love which contains 
the sacrifice. " There is a Gethsemane hid in all 
love," he says, "and when the fit occasion comes, 
no matter how great and high the subject may 
be, its heavy groaning will be heard — even as 
it was in Christ"; or again, "There is a cross 
in God before the wood is seen in Calvary." 



HORACE BUSHNELL 301 

His devotion to truth was one of the main 
characteristics of his life, but it was a truth 
which must have had an historical continuity. 
He did not desire to feel that it originated with 
him, but that it could be verified in the best 
thought of the early church fathers, — an ortho- 
doxy not of one century but of all the Christian 
centuries. Then, this truth must be made real 
in life, and until it was thus vitalized and 
embodied in the form of corporate action, he 
never could rest satisfied. In his political, as 
well as his religious thinking, the activity and 
perseverance of his mind were shown in the 
need of constant expression until the result 
was obtained, either the evil was rectified, or 
the book was sent forth on its mission. 

The ruggedness of his nature was softened 
often by a delightful play of humor. This 
saved him many depressing moments, and 
lightened up the gloom of an irritating circum- 
stance. Of two ministers who were colleagues, 
he said their relation was unscriptural because 
"it was forbidden to yoke an ox with an ass." 
When the music was criticised he was provoked 
and exclaimed, " It's worship ! and you might 



302 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

as well criticise the gait of the scapegoat that 
bears away the sins of the people." Indulging 
himself in sarcasm occasionally at the expense 
of a shallow preacher, he said, when told by 
some one that he had known him twenty years 
ago as a boy who did chores for his board, 
"That is what he is doing now." This play- 
fulness used to take him sometimes when he 
smoked in later life, and he would announce 
his intention to his friend by saying, " Now, 
come, let us sin a little." 

The life of Horace Bushnell reached out in 
so many different directions, touching many 
interests with enthusiasm, that a final judgment 
on him is difficult to pronounce. That he had 
genius no one will deny ; that he had applica- 
tion is evident ; that he had consecration is 
assumed ; but what he did have supremely was 
creative imagination. It entered the sphere of 
politics as well as religion, and in terms of brill- 
iant metaphor presented the central truth of 
whatever system he was dealing with so vividly 
and attractively that men were fascinated by 
its greatness. The very vagueness of definition 
often was an aid to the effect, as vapor softens 



HORACE BUSHNELL 303 

the sharpness of outline and diffuses the light. 
His boldness forced what he had to say into 
the very faces of his opponents. He founded 
no school, nor did he collect a band of disciples, 
but stood out as one man who had been moved 
to unburden his soul to the men of his genera- 
tion, urging them to prize national honor, to 
legislate for the benefit of a growing civiliza- 
tion, to live as becomes men, and to have faith 
in their own souls, in their fellow-men, in God, 
to trust the future as one derives inspiration 
from the past, and to ennoble the whole of life 
by a reasonable and holy service. 

The aim of his life-work, as Dr. Austin 
Phelps expresses it, was that of discovery : 
" He was a looker on, and up, to the firmament 
of truth ; and whatever he saw there he pro- 
claimed to the waiting multitudes below." 



CHAPTER IX 

HENRY WARD BEECHER 

Henry Ward Beecher did not give early 
the promise of his future. " He had precisely 
the organization which often passes for dulness 
in boyhood," wrote Mrs. Stowe ; " he had a 
great deficiency in verbal memory, a deficiency 
marked in him through life ; he was excessively 
sensitive to praise and blame, extremely diffi- 
dent. . . . His utterance was thick and indis- 
tinct." But the association with his clever 
brothers and sisters and the rugged personality 
of his father, Lyman Beecher, one of the great 
preachers and theologians of his time, rubbed 
off the uncouthness of youth and developed his 
talents, especially in theological directions, for 
the daily discussions of the household clustered 
around free will and predestination, even when 
the father sawed the family wood in the cellar, 
304 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 305 

calling up through the floor a new argument 
to his son above. When Lyman Beecher was 
accused of heresy by Dr. Wilson, an advocate 
of that distillation called " Scotch-Irish Presby- 
terian Calvinistic fatalism," the Beecher family 
spent their waking moments in discussing total 
depravity and Scripture inspiration. While 
these early surroundings gave a theological 
trend to Henry Ward's thoughts and sharpened 
his wits, they also gave him a surfeit of doc- 
trinal controversy, and explain in some measure 
the absence of dogma from his preaching and 
teaching. In college, phrenology seems to 
have claimed more of his time than theology. 
Associated with Fowler, the prophet of the new 
science, he used to deliver lectures, which at 
least gave him some training in public speak- 
ing, if it did not gain adherents to the system 
of character reading by cranial protuberances. 
His study of elocution, his athletic training, and 
the friendship of his fellow-students, together 
with general reading, and a genuine religious 
experience were his preparation for his career 
in the ministry, which soon became inevitable 
to an eager, thoughtful, full-blooded man, who 

X 



306 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

desired to do something in the world, and that 
too for his fellow-men. 

The first parish was at Lawrenceburg, — a 
little town in the wilderness of Ohio. " I was 
sexton of my own church at that time," he after- 
ward said ; " there were no lamps there, so I 
bought some ; and I filled them and lit them. 
I swept the church and lighted my own fire. 
I did not ring the bell, because there was none 
to ring." Here he learned to know men inti- 
mately, their needs and pecuharities ; and in the 
sermons wrought out by hard work, he was un- 
consciously laying the foundation for his future 
strength. He had already made some progress 
as a journalist, serving for a time as a writer 
on the Cincinnati Journal. It was significant 
that his editorials on the pro-slavery riots were 
copied into various other papers, because these 
were among the earliest signs of his defence 
of the negro. Two years of service in Law- 
renceburg were followed by eight years in Indi- 
anapolis. He began here "to preach a little," 
&s he described it, his reputation growing 
rapidly. The ministry in Indianapolis was in 
quality like the hfe-work in Brooklyn. The 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 307 

same characteristics of thought and activity 
are to be seen in the eadier period as in the 
later one. The preaching was vital and drew 
the people to hear him ; he dealt with public 
questions as well as Scriptural ones ; he was 
informal and direct, homely in style often, but 
convincing; vigorous in his denunciation of the 
sins of the day. The two literary remains of 
the earlier work are the " Lecture to Young 
Men," and the articles on agricultural subjects 
which he wrote for the Indiana Journal, then for 
the Western Fanner and Gardener, and finally 
collected into the interesting volume, " Pleasant 
Talk about Fruits, Flowers, and Farming." 

But this was early work. When Beecher 
came to the newly organized Plymouth Church 
in 1847, he came to his throne. From this pul- 
pit, with scarcely any interruption, he preached 
his famous sermons for forty years. In his 
first sermon, on October 10, 1847, he out- 
hned what should be the character of the 
preaching, its wide scope, dealing with every 
moral question of the time, questions of 
national importance, slavery, war, temperance, 
declaring his chief purpose to make his minis- 



308 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

try " a ministry of Christ." He lived up 
to his early promise. His pulpit was never 
silent when the people were listening for the 
voice of a prophet or a guide. They learned 
that absolute frankness and independence, 
sympathy with the oppressed and with their 
own sorrows, were to be found in Plymouth 
pulpit. So the people of America went to 
hear him and read his sermons, which were 
printed both in America and England. One 
of the attractions of a visit to New York was 
the chance of hearing Henry Ward Beecher. 
The Fulton ferry-boat was crowded on Sun- 
day mornings with a company of eager 
strangers, who got off the car in Brooklyn 
when the conductor, knowing their errand, 
called out " Beecher " instead of the name of 
the street. When they entered the church, 
there were generally three thousand persons 
already seated. The continuous popularity of 
the preacher for such a long period of time 
was a remarkable testimony to his power as 
a speaker, to his knowledge of men, to the 
force of his convictions, and the truth which 
he presented for their acceptance. 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 309 

To account for his power and to see the 
reasons for it, one must remember that he 
made pubHc speaking the specialty of his Hfe, 
and while he did many other things, he made 
them all contribute to his work as a preacher. 
" I am, in the providence of God, so circum- 
stanced in reference to public speaking, which 
seems to be my specialty," he said, " that I 
put my whole strength into that and give up 
everything else to it." The ordinary duties 
of the parish minister he put into other hands 
after his great influence began to grow in 
Plymouth pulpit, preferring even not to make 
calls upon the sick or afflicted. He was always 
in the homiletic frame of mind, that is, seeking 
facts and knowledge with the ulterior purpose 
of using them in the pulpit or on the platform. 
When on Saturdays he left his study to wander 
about the shops and factories of New York, 
examining jewels at Tiffany's, or watching a 
shoemaker drive his pegs, it was with the idea 
of getting vivid impressions from which he 
might form illustrations to make his sermons 
fresh and interesting. He studied men as 
much as books, always going to a recognized 



3IO THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

authority for first-hand information, which he 
absorbed at once and made his own. While 
the immediate preparation for the Sunday ser- 
mons was brief, consuming a few hours after 
breakfast on Sunday morning and a short time 
in the afternoon for the evening sermon, his 
general preparation was continuous. Every- 
thing he read, every incident of the day, 
chance conversation, as well as serious study, 
all went into the sub-conscious manufactory 
where the sermon was in process of making. 
Memory for facts, not for words, and quick 
application of ideas, with a keen sense of 
what was appropriate, made it possible for 
him to be ready at all times to gather together 
his thoughts and present them with clearness, 
and as his mind kindled, with force and elo- 
quence. The fertility of his mind was such 
that one of his friends thought "he could fill 
two octavo pages with the description of a 
cobweb, and yet there would be much more 
than mere words in the description." 

Mr. Beecher's fine presence and sympathetic 
voice added to the effect of his sermons. 
Sometimes his manner was dramatic. After 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 31I 

having spoken in a conversational way he 
would warm up to his subject and uncon- 
sciously act the scene he was describing. But 
on the whole it was the earnestness and force 
of a great personality rather than the manner 
of the delivery that held the people. Once, 
when he held the chains that had bound the 
hands of John Brown, and hurled them upon 
the floor, stamping upon them, the effect 
was tremendous. Occasionally in reading the 
Scripture he would use a dramatic gesture. 
During troublous times, when Mr. Beecher had 
enemies, he was reading the account of St. 
Paul's shipwreck at Melita and the viper which 
fastened itself upon the hand of the apostle ; 
continuing, he read, " He shook off the beast 
into the fire, and felt no harm,'" accompanying 
the words with such a gesture that all knew he 
meant he would thus treat his enemies. 

Dr. Richard R. Storrs well analyzed Mr. 
Beecher's power as a preacher when at the 
twenty-fifth anniversary of Plymouth Church 
in 1872 he said: "It used to amuse me and 
provoke me, years ago, when men would speak 
as if his strength lay in some one thing ; in his 



312 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETl^ERS 

voice, perhaps, or in his gesture, or his power 
of illustration, or something else. . . . You 
know as well as I do, that his power comes 
from many sources. It is like a rushing, royal 
river, which has its birthplace in a thousand 
springs." When one says that it is due to a 
vitalized mind or immense common-sense, sym- 
pathy with men, mental sensibility, or animal 
vigor, it must be conceded that these qualities 
were all present in a remarkable degree ; but 
beyond all these, there was the unanalyzed force 
of a character and heart that gave from out its 
own fulness the light and conviction which 
helped the men who heard him. His profound 
faith in righteousness was communicated to 
others and it abode in them. The unconven- 
tionality of the discourse attracted attention 
by its freshness and startling qualities. He 
would take his illustrations from every possi- 
ble quarter, but those that dealt with the 
common life of man, the affections and daily 
work of the people, were the most in use. 
If there was one quality above another that 
predominated in his preaching it was a vivid- 
ness of description that made his hearers see 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 313 

what was in his own mind, thus making 
them live with him through the experiences 
that he related. Whenever humor was used it 
was not for its own sake, but it bubbled up to 
illustrate the truth or the fact. Of beauty there 
was no absence, many of his descriptions 
being filled with poetic appreciation of art and 
music and literature. 

Not only Mr. Beecher's character and attain- 
ments gave the force to his preaching and lit- 
erary work, but the topics he dealt with were 
popular. He was the exponent of the new 
theology, — not dogmatic theology, but a life 
theology. He appealed to those who had lost 
sympathy with the hard-and-fast discussions of 
dry orthodoxy ; yet, while retaining the Evan- 
gelical fervor and belief in the essence of the 
older doctrines, he tried to put new life into 
them and make them real by new interpreta- 
tions and adaptations to present needs. He 
disclaimed the title of systematic theologian, 
and yet he had a system of his own, having for 
its cardinal doctrines the Fatherhood of God 
and the Brotherhood of man. When men 
everywhere were beginning to feel after these 



314 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

truths, it was no surprise that they gladly 
received them when presented by the eloquence 
and conviction of Mr. Beecher. What is called 
the new theology found in him a warm advo- 
cate and skilful expositor. 

Another subject which early attracted his 
attention and close study was evolution. This 
interest was doubtless increased by his love for 
nature and the processes of natural law, but 
more especially arose from eagerness to ex- 
amine new theories with the hope of discover- 
ing truth to be used in its application to religion. 
He read with great care Herbert Spencer and 
Haeckel, studying other well-known scientific 
writers ; and having made up his mind that a 
great discovery had been made in the doctrine 
of evolution, he was among the first to accept 
and preach with boldness its essential princi- 
ples. While other ministers were alarmed at 
the supposed conflict between religion and 
science, he saw the harmony between the two. 
While others condemned the new thought, he 
hailed it with the enthusiasm of a new convic- 
tion. The sermons preached in 1885 on evo- 
lution attracted much attention, and were 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 315 

afterward collected into two volumes called 
" Evolution and Religion," discussing the bear- 
ings of Evolutionary Philosophy on the doctrines 
of Evangelical Christianity. " I am for liberty 
of knowledge," he asserted, "for liberty in 
philosophy, in spite of organization and prece- 
dents and all that is past." 

The discussion of evolution was carried on 
in the two books with much learning and 
clear thinking. In the chapter on "The Two 
Revelations," the main contention is made that 
God's ways are to be seen in nature as well as 
in the Bible, for " Science is but the decipher- 
ing of God's thought as revealed in the struc- 
ture of this world." The argument from 
Design was seen to be affected by the con- 
ception of development, but only in giving it 
a grander scope. Minute adaptations of means 
to ends which had appealed to the older writers 
of apologetics from the time of Paley's reason- 
ing about the celebrated watch might lose some 
of their force, but the signs of a universal 
progress toward the improvement of the spe- 
cies and the unfolding of world-movements 
were asserted to be a truer confirmation of 



3l6 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

design than the multiplication of little special 
examples. " Design by wholesale is grander 
than design by retail." Continuing the same 
thought, he reasoned that "if it be evidence 
of design in creation that God adapted one 
single flower to its place and functions, is it 
not greater evidence if there is a system of 
such adaptations going on from eternity .-* " 
So the conclusion is reached that " Evolution 
instead of obliterating the evidence of divine 
design has lifted it to a higher plane and made 
it more sublime than it was ever contemplated 
to be under the old reasonings." The differ- 
ence between the German and English scien- 
tists did not escape observation, the former 
being by far the most materialistic, while the 
latter prepared the way for a rational philoso- 
phy of the spiritual in nature and life. There 
is much discrimination in the difference dis- 
covered between these two streams of ten- 
dency. The ultimate influence on religion was 
no less clearly perceived in the reconstruction 
that would be necessary both in theology 
and the interpretation of Scripture, but the re- 
casting of older thought was willingly allowed, 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 317 

because Mr. Beechcr believed that the new 
view would-" give religion " a character such 
as has never yet been known in the world at 
large." The hght of humor occasionally flashes 
through the pages, having also the force of an 
argument : " We need not be afraid of getting 
rid of original sin, because we can get all the 
actual transgression that the world needs to 
take its place." These volumes on evolution, 
by the calm survey of the situation and the 
hopeful view of the outcome of the contro- 
versy between science and certain forms of 
belief, marked in their day an important stage 
in the relations existing between the deepest 
religious thought and the achievement of 
modern science. That they were read by the 
people as much as by the students is an 
additional reason why they may be considered 
as having played an important part in the 
reconstruction of American rehgious ideas. 

Nowhere, however, are Mr. Beecher's thoughts 
on preaching, its aim and power, so fully set 
forth, as in the remarkable series of volumes 
containing the lectures delivered at Yale Col- 
lege in the three years beginning with 1871. 



3l8 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

The Lyman Beecher Lectureship on Preaching 
was founded by a parishioner of Plymouth 
Church ; and it was natural that Mr. Beecher 
should be appointed the first lecturer, an office 
which he filled with satisfaction to all con- 
cerned, and set the ideal of the lectureship so 
high that those who have succeeded him, at- 
tempting to attain to it, have produced some of 
the noblest contributions to American theologi- 
cal literature. The lectures are informal talks 
to the students rather than elaborate or studied 
addresses. They touch upon a great range of 
subjects, interesting not only to the clergy but 
to the general reader. They exhibit Mr. 
Beecher's power at its best ; clear, forcible, 
brilliant, with the unexpectedness of great 
thoughts bursting out from the even current 
of his theme, and a sympathy with human 
affairs deep and abiding. There is no effort 
apparent in their delivery ; and, as was his 
method of preparation, being hardly outlined 
the day before they were given, they caused 
him no effort except the final one of creation at 
the moment as they flowed from his well-stored 
mind and varied experience. He often allowed 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 319 

himself to wander on at will, recalling past 
incidents in his own and his father's life, telling 
an anecdote to illustrate his point, or forcing 
a truth home by the power of an aroused im- 
agination. Mr. Beecher's characteristic method 
of saying clever things was like his advice on 
the subject of humor in the pulpit — if they came 
naturally, use them, but never spring them on 
the audience for the sake of making an impres- 
sion. 

On the subject of making people laugh in 
church, he said, " If I can make them laugh, 
I do not thank anybody for the next move ; 
I will make them cry. Did you ever see a 
woman carrying a pan of milk quite full, and 
it slops over on one side, that it did not imme- 
diately slop over on the other also .'' " When 
speaking of health as necessary to public speak- 
ing, and urging the importance of sleep, he 
made his point by asserting that " If you do 
not sleep, first or last, your audience will, and 
therefore it is necessary that you should sleep 
for them, that they may keep awake to hear 
what you may have to say." Of some sermons 
he said they were built like the ships down in 



320 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Maine : " They build them by the mile, and 
when they have an order they cut off so much, 
round up a stern and a bow. Thus some ser- 
mons seem to have been built by the mile. 
There seems to be no earthly reason why the 
preacher should begin in one place rather than 
another." When urging a certain healthful 
bravery in preaching, warning against a man's 
preaching in a low and feeble voice, each one 
of his sentences seeming like " a poor scared 
mouse running for its hole," he stated that "a 
congregation knows when a minister is afraid 
of them just as well as a horse knows that his 
driver is afraid of him." In preferring the use 
of good Saxon words instead of scholastic dic- 
tion, he says : " The plain language gives bell- 
notes which ring out suggestions to the popular 
heart. There are words that men have heard 
when boys at home, around the hearth and the 
table, words that are full of father and of 
mother, and full of common and domestic 
life. . . . For, after all, simple language is 
loaded down and stained through with the best 
testimonies and memories of life." He relates 
how one day his father, Lyman Beecher, came 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 32 1 

home after the Sunday service and said, "It 
seems to me I never made a worse sermon than 
I did this morning." " Why, father," said I, " I 
never heard you preach so loud in all my life." 
"That's the way," he said; "I always halloa 
when I haven't anything to say." 

These are illustrations of the way in which 
bright things are scattered throughout the 
lectures. In the main they are serious dis- 
cussions of many vital questions. The first 
series dealt with the personal elements that 
bear important relation to preaching, such as 
the qualifications of the preacher, elements 
in oratory, rhetorical drill, health as related 
to preaching, with the last lecture on " Love 
the Central Element of the Christian Min- 
istry " ; the second series had more to say 
about the conduct of public worship, prayer 
meetings, and social gatherings, music in wor- 
ship, and methods of dealing with new fields 
of labor ; the third year was devoted more to 
doctrinal discussion as to the best ways of 
using Christian doctrines in their relation to 
the needs of individual dispositions and the 
wants of communities. 



322 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

The author of the " History of Journalism 
in America " refers to Henry Ward Beecher 
as one of the few great editors of the United 
States. This judgment is confirmed by an 
examination into his experiences as an editor 
and writer for newspapers. He felt the size 
and importance of the audience reached 
through the means of journalism, and early 
used his pen to influence a vast unknown 
number of readers. His earliest efforts were 
as editor for five months of the Cincinnati 
Journal, an organ of the Presbyterian church, 
in which he wrote editorials against slavery; 
and when a band of pro-slavery rioters 
destroyed Birney's press, he was sworn in 
as a special policeman, and carried a weapon 
which he determined to use if occasion re- 
quired it. Next he wrote the articles on 
farming in the Western Farmer and Gardener. 
Soon after his arrival in Brooklyn the editors 
of the New York Independent enlisted his 
services in the cause of freedom, and though 
the religious press of the country was at that 
time silent on the subject of slavery, he wrote 
articles of such power that they attracted 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 323 

general attention to the stand taken by the 
New York Independent. It is related that his 
famous article " Shall We Compromise ? " was 
read to the dying statesman Calhoun. " Read 
that again," said Calhoun ; " that fellow under- 
stands his subject. He will be heard from 
again. He has gone to the bottom." " Shall 
We Compromise.-*" was written February 21, 
1850, on the propositions of Henry Clay, and 
boldly stated the moral issue : " Let no man 
suppose that the contentions which now agi- 
tate the land have sprung from the rash pro- 
cedure of a few men — hot-heads either of 
the North or of the South. We are in the 
midst of a collision, not of men, but of prin- 
ciples and political institutions." It was clearly 
pointed out that one of the great differences 
between the North and the South was in the 
theory of labor, the North regarding labor as 
voluntary and honorable, while the South 
looked upon it as a disgraceful necessity to 
be confined to a subservient class, — thus 
marking the "vital distinguishing elements of 
two radically different governments, an Aris- 
tocracy and a Democracy," which in time must 



324 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

come into conflict, because such principles 
will determine the family institutions, public 
opinion, and the very natures of the com- 
munities. To discuss the anti-slavery question 
in editorials, Mr. Beecher did not rely on his 
general knowledge of the subject and his 
stirred emotions, but he made special studies 
of Story on the Constitution, Kent's " Com- 
mentaries," and Lieber's " Civil Liberty and 
Self-Government," so that, when in his usual 
style of writing he eagerly threw off page 
after page just in time for the boy to take 
them to the printer, leaving to other hands 
correction and proof-reading, he spoke with 
authority as well as with strength. 

After his withdrawal from the Independent 
he became editor of a paper called TJie Church 
Union. The name did not suit Mr. Beecher 
and it was changed to The Christian Union, 
because he wished to have contributors who 
were " as free from sectarian bias as the Ser- 
mon on the Mount." The paper continued to 
meet with success and increased in influence, 
though at times with varying fortune, during 
Mr. Beecher's editorship, which terminated in 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 325 

1 88 1. From these journalistic labors was 
collected a series of papers ; to which were 
added letters from abroad, the whole being 
published in book form as " Star Papers." 
The title was suggested by the fact that many 
of the articles appeared in the Independent 
signed by a star, and were familiarly spoken 
of as Star Articles. " Star Papers " contains 
excellent pieces of descriptive writing on a 
great variety of subjects. The only unity to 
the papers is the binding of them in one 
volume. Among the European letters are 
interesting accounts of visits to Stratford-on 
Avon, Warwick Castle, Oxford, the National 
Gallery, London, and the Louvre. In Strat- 
ford, besides the memories of Shakespeare, the 
thing that most impressed him was the service 
in the church where the great dramatist lies 
buried. It was the first time that he ever heard 
prayers chanted by a choir, and he wrote, " It 
seemed as though I heard not with my ears, but 
with my soul." The style of the essays, or 
short sketches, is easy and entertaining, giving 
new evidence of the versatility of the man who 
had many sides to his nature. 



326 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

When the writing of a novel for the Ledger 
was suggested to Mr. Beecher by his friend 
Robert Bonner, he was surprised and hesitated 
to accept the proposal because it seemed as 
much out of his line as " a request to carve a 
statue, or build a man-of-war." He could do 
many things, and had tried his hand at trades 
and professions, but never had he written even 
a short story before. Being tired out after the 
Civil War and seeking relaxation, he decided to 
make it his supreme work at Peekskill. The 
result was " Norwood, or Village Life in New 
England," which appeared in instalments in the 
Ledger, and then reached in book form a large 
number of readers. In the preface the author 
admits that he is unfamiliar with the machinery 
of a novel, plot and counterplot, but hopes to 
interest his readers in the incidents of New 
England village life as Crabbe depicted the 
English village life. 

" Norwood " has very slight elements of a 
novel, almost no plot, and little movement. It 
is diffuse and rambling, full of digressions, with 
many discussions not at all germane to the 
subject in hand except as all forms of experi- 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 327 

ence may be included in the life of a village. 
The book is more like a history of a town than 
a novel, though the element of romance is woven 
throughout. To one who has the leisure to read 
it, for it is long, beginning with the love affair 
of the parents and following the children from 
infancy to marriage through the intervening 
spaces of college and professional studies, the 
book is entertaining and instructive. The 
author also introduces very striking conversa- 
tions on politics and religion, farm life and 
literature. 

The character sketches in " Norwood " are 
well drawn, giving the usual New England per- 
sonages, the village doctor, the minister, the 
young college man, the retired sea-captain, the 
negro servant, with many other curious people 
worth knowing. The book was written sponta- 
neously, requiring no labored research, but the 
pleasant pastime of recalling old memories. It 
is a kind of autobiography without exact dates, 
names and places reproducing the author's own 
experience in a thousand forms. The elm trees 
that shade the streets of Norwood are hke those 
which he had passed beneath in many a country 



328 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

visit. " The elms of New England ! " he ex- 
claimed. "They were as much a part of her 
beauty as the columns of the Parthenon were 
the glory of its architecture ; " and they sym- 
bolized for him the Puritan's inflexibility of 
character, " being broad at the root, firm in the 
trunk, and yielding at the top, yet returning 
again, after every impulse, into position and 
symmetry." The Puritan Sabbath is equally 
well described, when nature and the village 
street seem both to indicate that a solemn 
change has come into human affairs ; and 
when, in spite of strictness and self-conscious 
conduct, the day brought with it a sense 
of spiritual things : " The one great poem of 
New England is her Sunday ! Through that 
she has escaped materialism. That has been 
the crystal dome overhead through which imagi- 
nation has been kept alive. New England's 
imagination is to be found — not in art or litera- 
ture — but in her inventions, her social organism, 
and, above all, in her religious life." The village 
worthies often say good things. Tommy Taft, 
bald down to the top of his ears, with a nose 
that hung on his face like an old-fashioned door 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 329 

knocker, usually talks in a quaint, humorous way, 
and Pete Sawmill, the big black fellow, who is 
something of a hero, wonders what he has such 
long legs for, but puts them to good use 
when his master. General Cathcart, is wounded 
and taken prisoner at Gettysburg. Old Uncle 
Eb's definition of a gentleman is a credit to his 
penetration. " A gentleman," he said, " must 
see everybody without looking, and know every- 
body without inquiry, and say just the right 
thing to everybody without trying to ; and, above 
all, he must make everybody in his presence do 
the best things they know how to do." 

Mr, Beecher's greatest influence upon the 
history of his times was as an orator who 
not only preached on political and economic 
themes, but ascended the public platform in 
the interests of good government and purity 
in politics. The work that he did in this 
way as an anti-slavery speaker is a part of 
the permanent records of American hfe. As 
an orator there was no man who had greater 
immediate power over an audience. He wielded 
them from the first, and when he rose to 
impassioned outbursts of moral feeling he 



330 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

carried them with him overwhelmingly. The 
qualities that made him a great preacher, 
given more freedom on the platform, made 
him a great orator. His influence over a 
crowd came from the correctness of his rea- 
soning and the amplitude of his knowledge 
as much as from the subtle turn of phrase, 
the good story, or the eloquence. 

Many were the exciting meetings he partici- 
pated in from the time in 1856 when a num- 
ber of prominent men, recognizing his ability, 
requested Plymouth Church to give him a 
leave of absence " to traverse the country on 
behalf of the cause of liberty " until after the 
Civil War was over. In many parts of the 
country he bore his testimony in such a way 
that it lived in the hearts of his hearers. 
When the emigrants were hurrying to Kansas 
to overcome the " Squatter Sovereignty," he 
declared that a rifle was more effective than 
a Bible in converting the border rufifians, and 
a Sharpe rifle was popularly called " Beecher's 
Bible." In the Fremont Campaign Mr. Beecher 
threw himself into the political struggle, mak- 
ing speeches throughout the state of New York 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 331 

sometimes two or three times a week, to eight 
thousand people in the open air, thus becom- 
ing an important factor in the growth of 
RepubHcan sentiment ; and during the Civil 
War his addresses to the soldiers going to 
the front, like his anniversary speeches and 
sermons, kept up the faith of all in the 
righteousness of the cause for which the war 
had been engaged in. 

When the Civil War burst upon the country, 
Mr. Beecher never left an opportunity unused 
to urge its necessity and keep before men the 
moral meaning of it. The sermon he preached 
on April 14, 1861, when Fort Sumter had 
been fired upon, "The Battle set in Array," 
using as his text, " Speak unto the children 
of Israel, that they go forward," was an 
exhortation to enter into the great struggle 
without fear. He hated war as much as any 
man, but he felt there were other evils as 
great and more terrible, as he explained, " I 
hold that it is ten thousand times better to 
have war than to have slavery " ; and when 
answering the objection of pecuniary cost in 
the prosecution of the war, he laid down the 



332 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

principle that " we must not stop to measure 
the costs, especially the costs of going for- 
ward, on any basis so mean and narrow as 
that of pecuniary prosperity. We must put 
our honor and religion into this struggle." 
The sermon on " The National Flag " was 
preached to the " Brooklyn Fourteenth," a col- 
lection being taken up on the occasion which 
amounted to ;^3000 to aid in equipping the 
regiment. " The Camp, its Dangers and 
Duties" was an important statement of the 
soldier's duties. Themes all bearing upon 
the conduct and purpose of the war were 
selected when the time seemed ripe for plain 
speech : " Modes and Duties of Emancipa- 
tion," "National Injustice and Penalty," "The 
Ground and Forms of Government," and "Lib- 
erty under Laws." 

By far the most important service that Henry 
Ward Beecher rendered his country was the 
series of speeches that he made in the leading 
cities of England in 1863, when it looked as if 
the British Government would recognize the 
Confederacy. He had gone abroad for rest, 
having made up his mind not to say anything 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 333 

publicly in England on the subject of the war. 
He was most disheartened when he realized that 
members of Parliament and professional men 
were almost without exception against the North, 
and it seemed futile for him to make any efforts 
to enlighten them. When he first landed he 
refused many invitations to speak. It was only 
on his return from the Continent that he was 
led to change his mind because it was shown 
him that the few friends of the North needed 
support, and because he was indignant at the 
sneers and misrepresentations that everywhere 
were hurled at his country. The first speech 
was at Manchester. Arriving in that city he 
soon discovered that there was great opposition 
to the meeting, and for a time the managers 
thought of abandoning the attempt. The streets 
were placarded with inflammatory posters. One 
of them read : " Men of Manchester, EngHsh- 
men ! what reception can you give this wretch, 
save unmitigated disgust and contempt ? He is 
a friend of that inhuman monster, General But- 
ler. He is the friend of that so-called Gospel 
Preacher Cheever, who said in one of his sermons, 
'Fight against the South till /iell freezes, and 



334 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

then continue the battle on the ice.' " The oppo- 
sition naturally increased the size of the meeting. 
When Mr. Beecher began to speak the enemies 
present caused an uproar, and it was some time 
before he could get in even an occasional word. 
"The question was," he afterward said, "who 
could hold out longest. There were five or six 
storm centres, boiling and whirling at the same 
time. ... It was like talking to a storm at sea." 
He used various tricks to get a hearing ; some- 
times he would laugh outright at the spectacle 
of an old woman beating her neighbor with an 
umbrella, and the crowd would stop yelling to 
see what he was laughing at ; sometimes he 
would answer a question that was thrown up at 
him from the crowd, and sometimes he gave 
up addressing the crowd and made part of his 
speech to the reporters sitting in front of him. 
After an hour and a half of this broken kind of 
an address he finally won the right to speak by 
his pluck and good nature. Then he spoke for 
two hours more, outlining the history of slavery 
and showing that the Civil War was fought to 
decide whether human labor should be free or 
bound, and appeaUng to their self-esteem by 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 335 

urging: "Join with us, then, Britons. From 
you we learnt the doctrine of what a man was 
worth ; from you we learnt to detest all oppres- 
sions ; from you we learnt that it was the noblest 
thing a man could do to die for a right principle." 
The speech in Glasgow was equally effective, 
the speaker's wisdom being shown in the way he 
appealed to the common people by emphasizing 
the fact that the " American question is the 
working mans question, all over the world ; 
the slave-master's doctrine is that capital should 
own labor!' In Edinburgh, Liverpool, and 
London there were meetings of similar char- 
acter, but in each place the subject of the 
address was selected which seemed most appro- 
priate. The speeches were reported in full 
in the English papers, and especially in the 
Londoji Tijnes. They were discussed every- 
where ; and as they summed up Mr. Beecher's 
whole knowledge of the slavery question as it 
affected civil government, morals, and religion, 
the English people had poured out upon them 
such a torrent of facts, arguments, appeals, 
criticisms, and eloquence that they could no 
longer be in doubt of the purpose of the North. 



336 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

The sentiment of the English nation was deeply 
influenced. To say the least, it was less likely 
after Mr. Beecher's speeches than before them 
that England would recognize the South. His 
words were attacked in the papers, discussed in 
the clubs ; and he was caricatured in Punch. 
Oliver Wendell Holmes called him "The Min- 
ister Plenipotentiary," in his clever article in the 
Atlantic Monthly, asserting that Mr. Beecher's 
series of speeches constituted " a more remark- 
able embassy than any envoy who has repre- 
sented us in Europe since Franklin pleaded the 
cause of the young Republic at the Court of 
Versailles. He kissed no royal hand, he talked 
with no courtly diplomatists, he was the guest 
of no titled legislator, he had no official exist- 
ence ; but through the hearts of the people he 
reached nobles, ministers, courtiers, the throne 
itself." 

The comprehensiveness of the English 
speeches is seen when they are read in a 
series. At Manchester a history was given of 
the political movements which led to a conflict 
between the two sections of the Union ; at 
Edinburgh was explained how the nation 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 337 

grew up out of separate states with the struggle 
for control between the North and South, the 
latter rebelling when it was defeated in politics; 
in the Liverpool speech it was pointed out to 
the inhabitants of that commercial and manu- 
facturing centre that their interests were injured 
by slavery, and that " this attempt to cover the 
fairest portion of the earth with a slave popula- 
tion that buys nothing, and a degraded white 
population that buys next to nothing, should 
array against it the sympathy of every true 
political economist and every thoughtful and 
far-seeing manufacturer, as tending to strike at 
the vital want of commerce, — not the want of 
cotton, but the want of customers." In London 
Mr. Beecher, while appealing to the conscience 
of the people and their Christianity, put before 
them in connected form what he had said in 
other places, and left in the capital of the British 
nation the lasting impression that the war was 
due to slavery and the desire of the South to 
found a great slave-empire, and English support 
meant the aiding in this undertaking. 

The success of the speeches in England was 
due in no little measure to Mr. Beecher's quick- 
z 



338 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

ness at repartee and promptness in answering 
questions. This faculty, which he always dis- 
played, won him the admiration of the people 
and silenced the objector; as in New York once, 
when he was speaking of the number of wives 
of the slaves who were forced to move from 
place to place, and a voice called out, " There are 
men in New York who have twenty wives," he 
replied, " I am sorry for them ; I go in for their 
immediate emancipation." \_Great cheering.'] 
When he was hissed he remarked that it was 
fair to give the other side a chance. Some one 
called out, "How about the Russians.''" referring 
to the growing friendship between the North 
and the Russian Government. Mr. Beecher 
answered, " Now you know what we felt when 
you were flirting with Mr. Mason at your Lord 
Mayor's banquet." At another time the speaker 
said : " Now Great Britain has thrown her arms 
of love around the Southerners and turns from 
the Northerners. [A^<?.] She don't.? \^Cheers.'] 
I have only to say that she had been caught in 
very suspicious circumstances." [^Langhter.'] 
With many other bright sallies and amusing 
anecdotes he soothed the audiences until they 



HENRY WARD BEECHER 339 

were ready to listen to his more formidable 
arguments. 

After the Civil War Mr. Beecher's interest 
in politics continued. He spoke constantly 
on such subjects as " Conditions of a Restored 
Union," " Reconstruction of Southern States," 
and " National Unity." Among these orations 
there were a tender eulogy upon Abraham Lin- 
coln and an appreciative memorial of General 
Grant. As he grew older his powers seemed 
to diminish very little, and until the last he 
was busy with his literary work, which became 
more distinctly religious. The unfinished book 
that remained after he had laid down his pen 
was the valuable fragment of his " Life of 
Christ," — a work upon which he desired 
to put his best and final efforts. He also 
intended to write his " Autobiography," but he 
died on March 8, 1887, leaving scarcely any 
notes except those very full ones scattered 
through his published writings, for he referred 
to himself often, relating numerous experiences 
of his early and mature life. Dr. Holmes 
says, " The way a man handles his egotisms 
is a test of his mastery over an audience or 



340 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

a class of readers." Mr. Beecher's egotisms 
were never used for self-glorification, but to 
illustrate and make real the truth he was 
unfolding. 

For almost half a century Henry Ward 
Beecher was one of the most conspicuous 
persons in American life. The product of 
his brain during all that time was enormous 
and exceedingly varied. That he moulded 
the opinions of men, there is no doubt ; that 
he urged an intelligent and devoted adherence 
to Christianity, there can be no question ; that 
he entered deeply into the politics of his time 
is evident ; and through all his activity he 
was unfailing in the use of his voice and pen 
for what he considered the advancement of 
human society. 



CHAPTER X 

PHILLIPS BROOKS 

Dr. Holmes, once writing to Bishop Clark 
of Rhode Island and thanking him for his 
memorial sermon upon the character of Phil- 
lips Brooks, said, " It was a very serious office 
to which you felt yourself called, for you had 
to deal with a character which I believe is to 
stand as the ideal minister of the American 
gospel." Such words of appreciation are a 
just estimate of the great preacher's life. He 
was the ideal minister of the American gospel, 
for he gathered into himself the best elements 
of American manhood, he had the deepest 
faith in American institutions, he had the 
energy, the large vision, the persistent hope 
of the young nation dealing with its problems 
of government, education, and character. And 
he was peculiarly the preacher of a gospel. 
Many of the American clergy have written 
341 



342 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

books on various subjects, been influential in 
the affairs of state, been professors and heads 
of colleges, and through these various channels 
have affected American life, but the power of 
Phillips Brooks was the power of the preacher, 
the man who chose to reach the people through 
the spoken word; and throwing his whole per- 
sonality into his thought and its expression, 
he gave them the truth which he had to bring. 
Instead of writing books on literary subjects, 
he wrote sermons which in themselves are 
literature. 

Born in Boston, December 13, 1835, he was 
educated in the best traditions of the city. 
He graduated at Harvard, and then studied 
for the ministry of the Episcopal church at 
the Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Vir- 
ginia. He passed a few years as a minister in 
Philadelphia, but returned to Boston as rector 
of Trinity Church in 1869, and was elected 
Bishop of Massachusetts in 189L He was in 
every sense a Boston man, moulded by its 
culture, responding to its history, and giving 
impetus to its growth. He continued in his 
work and person the succession of the com- 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 343 

manding figures in New England religious 
life. His ancestors had been conspicuous in 
New England history from John Cotton, the 
learned minister of Boston, to Samuel Phillips, 
who founded Andover Academy. So the piety 
and moral fibre of the Puritan were his by the 
right of inheritance, and the spirit of inde- 
pendent thought and breadth were bred by 
contact with the times in which he lived ; 
these, combined with the genius and nobility 
of his own nature, brought back again the 
days of the great preachers who wielded men 
by the logic and force of their convictions. 

In college Phillips Brooks was a good scholar, 
a delightful companion, a loyal son of Harvard, 
and a student who gave great promise by his 
proficiency in English composition. He has told 
how the reading of " In Memoriam," just then 
published, was an event of the first importance 
in his student days. After graduation he made 
the first failure of his life. As a teacher in the 
Boston Latin School he was unable to control 
the rebellious spirits in his class ; and after the 
trial of a few months sent in his resignation with 
the words of Francis Gardner, the head-master, 



344 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

ringing in his ears, " That he never knew a 
man who failed as a schoolmaster to succeed in 
any other occupation." However, after a period 
of discouragement, he went to Alexandria to study 
for the ministry. There he threw himself into 
the studies of the class room, and carried on an 
immense amount of private reading, keeping 
full notes and writing out his ideas in a series 
of note-books which have a great value now to 
those interested in his development, for they 
contain in a remarkable degree the germ of all 
his thinking. He made a full study of the Church 
Fathers in the original Greek and Latin, putting 
aside for future use in the note-books the strik- 
ing phrases, the thoughts that stimulated him, 
and the sentences that sprang up in his own 
mind as definitions or illustrations, and the 
sonnets that he wrote to celebrate in verse 
those who helped him most, a St. Jerome, or a 
Clement. One of his essays, written in the 
seminary days with the title, " The Centralizing 
Power of the Gospel," gives in outline many 
of the thoughts which were most characteristic 
of him in later years : " Truth centralizes not 
thought only, but affection and will," he wrote, 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 345 

showing "that Christianity, if it claim to be a 
complete not a partial system for the redemp- 
tion of our life, must come with its central truth 
broad enough and true enough to embrace and 
save it all " ; and the fulness of the moral life 
he found in Christ, " the Intellect coming up to 
say, ' Lord, teach me ' ; the Heart bringing its 
tribute of loyalty and love ; the Will with bowed 
head echoing the first Christian question, ' What 
wilt Thou have me do ? ' " 

From the very start, as rector of the Church 
of the Advent, Philadelphia, and later rector of 
Holy Trinity Church in the same city, Philhps 
Brooks was a great preacher. It was at once 
realized that his was a powerful nature, full of 
spiritual force and enthusiasm, ready to help all 
who might come to hear what he had to say. 
His fame soon spread abroad, and he leaped into 
national recognition when, during the Civil War, 
he preached his strong sermons on thanksgiving 
occasions or pressed home the lesson of some 
defeat or victory. Bred in the North, and look- 
ing upon slavery as the supreme curse of the 
land, he did not hesitate to preach against it and 
demand its suppression. Prominent people with- 



346 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

drew from his church and the usual abuse that 
followed such a courageous expression of opin- 
ion was heaped upon him, but never for a 
moment did it restrain him. It was soon recog- 
nized throughout the country that a new ad- 
vocate of freedom had risen to uphold the 
administration in the carrying on of the war 
and to set before the people the moral purposes 
for which it was fought. He was determined to 
have the courage to speak out clearly. " The 
great vice of our people," he said, "in their 
relation to the politics of the land, is cowardice. 
It is not lack of intelligence : our people know 
the meaning of political conditions with won- 
derful sagacity. It is not low morality. ... It 
is cowardice." The two sermons, published 
in pamphlet form, that became immediately 
famous during the Philadelphia ministry, were 
" Our Mercies of Reoccupation," preached on 
Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1863, and 
"The Life and Death of Abraham Lincoln," 
preached April 23, 1865, when the dead Presi- 
dent lay for a time in Philadelphia. 

The main thought of " Our Mercies of 
Reoccupation " was that at last the people 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 347 

were beginning to appreciate the original 
principles of the government, and were reoc- 
cupying and entering into again, through the 
experiences of the war, the full intention of 
the founders of the Constitution. He gave 
thanks because the citizens were ready to 
enjoy "the full occupation of the government 
of their fathers, the reentrance into the prin- 
ciples and fundamental truths of the nation- 
ality which they inherited, but which, up to 
the beginning of this war, they had not 
begun worthily to occupy and use." In justi- 
fying his treatment of such a subject on 
Thanksgiving Day, the preacher asked, " Is 
it the part of earnest men just to come up to 
our churches and thank God for the cornfields 
and busy stores, and say nothing about the 
war."*" He said a great deal about the war 
and slavery, and especially to those who so 
misread their Bible as to confirm their desires 
to find in the sacred book arguments for the 
ownership of men. The statement that the 
Bible recognizes slavery was met by indicat- 
ing the fallacy in the two meanings of the 
word "recognition." "Men prove elaborately," 



348 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETl'ERS 

he contended, " that the fact of bondage is 
recognized in the Bible, which is indisputa- 
ble ; and then they jump you over and tell 
you that they have proved that the rigJit of 
bondage is recognized in the Bible, which is 
an entirely different thing, and which they 
have not proved at all." Referring to a 
Bishop who had upheld the Bible argument 
for slavery, he rejoiced that a protest had 
been made by clergy and laymen alike. " As 
name after name was added to that protest," 
he said, " as the assent came in so unani- 
mously from every direction — from the mis- 
sion chapels in the hills, from the cathedral 
churches in the city, from the seats of our 
schools and our seminary, and, above all, thank 
God, from the honored dignity of the Bishop's 
chair — it seemed to me as if every new assent 
wiped from the vesture of the church we love 
some stain of her compliance, and gave prom- 
ise of the day when she shall stand up in 
her perfect and unsullied excellence." The 
preacher made no compromises, and vehe- 
mently repelled the accusation that his church, 
as a whole, was in sympathy with slavery. 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 349 

The sermon on " The Life and Death of 
Abraham Lincoln " was even more earnest in 
condemnation of the national sin. It was a 
just and glowing eulogy of Lincoln and a 
vindication of all that the President had stood 
for. In Lincoln was seen "the greatness of 
real goodness and the goodness of real great- 
ness." He was " the gentlest, kindest, most 
indulgent man that ever ruled a state." " If 
ever the face of a man writing solemn words 
glowed with a solemn joy," it was said, " it 
must have been the face of Abraham Lincoln 
as he bent over the page when the Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation of 1863 was growing into 
shape, and giving manhood and freedom as 
he wrote it to hundreds of thousands of his 
fellow-men. Here was a work in which his 
whole nature could rejoice. Here was an act 
that crowned the whole culture of his life." 
In one of those splendid generalizations for 
which Phillips Brooks was noted, the conflict 
which issued in the death of Lincoln was 
pictured as a struggle between two different 
types of American character. Until after the 
war there was no one American character that 



350 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

extended throughout the land, but there were 
two characters in absolute opposition and 
deadly conflict. The death of the President 
was the result of the conflict of the two Ameri- 
can natures, the false and the true. " It was 
slavery and freedom that met in their two rep- 
resentatives," he exclaimed, "the assassin and 
the President. . . . Solemnly in the sight of 
God I charge this murder where it belongs, on 
slavery. By all the goodness that was in him, 
by all the love we had for him (and who shall 
tell how great it was .''), by all the sorrow that 
has burdened down this desolate and dreadful 
week, I charge his murder where it belongs, 
on slavery." 

Phillips Brooks's intense feeling of the sa- 
credness and righteousness of the Civil War 
found its most characteristic expression when 
he was called upon to make the prayer at 
the Harvard Commemoration service, July 21, 
1865. This was the occasion on which Lowell 
read the " Commemoration Ode," and famous 
speeches were made as the names of the Har- 
vard men who died for their country were 
honored, but the testimony of many present 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 35 1 

during the exercises was that the greatest im- 
mediate effect was produced by the prayer of 
Phillips Brooks. In his vehement and eager 
way he lifted up his mighty form, and poured 
forth, as a representative of the people, the 
pain and sorrow of the war, the thanksgiving 
for the lives of heroism, and the clear view 
of moral questions that had come, and the joy 
of victory in the vindication of God's pur- 
poses. In extemporaneous speech Mr. Brooks 
was always most moving and effective; when 
he joined to it the intellectual and spiritual 
attitude of prayer he seemed like one inspired. 
There was such dignity and reverence, such 
rapid, breathless unburdening of himself in 
the presence of the Almighty, that all were 
lifted up into the greatness of his thought, 
and felt their souls go out in communion with 
God through the fervency of his appeal. 

Phillips Brooks came to the men of his gen- 
eration distinctly as the preacher. In all his 
public addresses, even after-dinner speeches, 
which were few in number, in his lectures and 
books, he was moved by the thought of deliv- 
ering a message which had fired his own soul, 



352 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

and he knew would inspire others with truth 
and genuine motives for action. He refused 
the many requests for magazine articles, con- 
tributing two or three only, — one upon the 
character of his friend. Dean Stanley, for the 
Atlajitic Monthly, and another for the Prince- 
ton Review on " The Pulpit and Popular 
Scepticism." The pulpit was the place of his 
greatest power. Whether in his own church 
or in others, in the great English cathedrals, 
or addressing workingmen in Faneuil Hall or 
at theatre services, or at the noon-day services 
during Lent in St. Paul's Church, Boston, or 
Trinity Church, New York, when the men of 
Wall Street crowded to hear him, he made 
an overwhelming impression. He was like 
no other preacher that the people had heard 
before. With no effort at oratory in the 
popular sense, and no attempt at producing a 
sensation, but with an absolute simplicity of 
manner and earnestness of thought he gave 
his own great conception of life and eternity, 
so beautifully set forth with the aid of his 
poetic imagination and the sincerity and faith 
of his own soul that no one could help catch- 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 353 

ing some of the greatness of his thought. In 
referring to Phillips Brooks as preeminently 
the preacher, the term is used in no narrow 
sense, but rather as a comprehensive word to 
include the richness and varied qualities of 
his nature as they found expression through 
his personality. His own definition of preach- 
ing is broad enough, as truth uttering itself 
through personality. The larger and more pro- 
found the truth and the greater the personality, 
so much greater must be the preacher's office. 
Truth to him meant not only doctrinal truth, 
or even Christian truth, technically so called, 
it meant all truth which the human mind and 
soul could gain in contact with nature, life, ex- 
perience, history, literature, religion, and God. 
It was universal and spiritual, and its mission 
was to educate and inspire men and nations 
so that they might live as God intended them 
to live, performing the humble task in the 
light of eternal purposes, and working out the 
destiny which was to be their redemption. His 
conception of the preacher's office was to unite, 
in a supreme effort of giving, the scholar's 
knowledge, the scientist's discovery, the phi- 



354 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

losopher's insight, the faith of sainthood, the 
poet's interpretation, the theologian's doctrine, 
the experiences of common life, the teachings 
of Jesus, to produce character, hope, and love. 
All that he gained from his study and expe- 
riences of life, his prayer, and his intercourse 
with men, he fused together into a mighty 
message, which he gave unreservedly and with 
the force of genius to the thoughtful people 
of his own age and generation. 

As a preacher the physical stature of the man 
helped his power. Some one said, " To see him 
in the pulpit was in itself a message." He was 
six feet four inches in height, with a body kingly 
in proportions. His head, large, with a noble 
brow and finely chiselled features, was an indi- 
cation of the breadth and largeness of all his 
thinking, and of the delicacy and refinement of 
his nature. But the eyes were what gave the 
nobility and expression to the face. They were 
large and dark, and when filled with earnestness 
or righteous indignation they seemed to double 
in size, and one felt the whole man's soul behind 
them. They glowed with fire or were soft with 
the tenderness of pleading. At times they were 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 355 

like the eyes of a lion at bay, so fierce they were 
in condemnation of wrong, and brave in uphold- 
ing what he considered right. As the preacher 
proceeded in his sermon, though there were few 
gestures, the whole body seemed to sway with 
emotion and intensity, the head was thrown 
back, and the eyes seemed to focus in their liv- 
ing power the force of the whole message. The 
words came with rushing rapidity as thought 
after thought, imagery and parable, argument 
and exhortation, flowed as in a torrent. Every 
motion was rapid, as if his loins were girded for 
a great undertaking. The hearer was carried 
out of himself, his pulses beat quicker, and his 
mind was stimulated to grasp the meaning of 
the splendid array of facts, generalizations, illus- 
trations that were presented to him. People 
went away saying, " How good it is to be alive," 
and " How easy it seems to be heroic " ; and the 
impression that the preacher made was a lasting 
one. It was not forgotten ; and when he was 
heard constantly the effect of all the previous 
sermons seemed to live again and increase the 
power of the new one by a process of spiritual 
accumulation. But in all this rapidity of thought 



356 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETl^ERS 

there was no hasty preparation or vagueness of 
thought. There was both exactness of analysis 
and unity of subject ; and the total impression 
was definite, the central theme standing out 
clearly from the carefully related parts. One 
of the important artistic effects of the preaching 
was the sense it gave of the accuracy with which 
a great force moved, rapidly, but with the swift- 
ness of a perfect aim. 

In the " Lectures on Preaching " delivered 
before the Divinity School of Yale College in 
1877, and published in book form, Phillips 
Brooks has given his most thoughtful estimate 
of preaching and revealed the methods and 
principles that guided him in his successful 
work. These brilliant lectures were a worthy 
successor to the earlier ones by Henry Ward 
Beecher. They became at once popular, being 
read by all sorts and conditions of people as 
well as by theological students. The sim- 
plicity of outline of the lectures is apparent 
from the topics chosen: "The Two Elements 
in Preaching," " The Preacher Himself," 
"The Preacher in his Work," "The Idea of 
the Sermon," " The Congregation," " The 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 35/ 

Ministry for Our Age," and " The Value of 
the Human Soul." While all the lectures are 
remarkable in their insight into the preacher's 
work and rich with metaphor and suggestion, 
the most characteristic are those that deal 
with the elements of preaching, the preacher 
himself, and the kind of ministry needed for 
the age. The elements in preaching were 
truth and personality, the one made real and 
definite through the other. Truth, not mechani- 
cal, or microscopic, but large, and broad, and 
vital, should be brought to men through the 
medium of the earnest personality of the 
preacher v/ho possesses that quality that kin- 
dles at the sight of men, "that keen joy at 
the meeting of truth and the human mind, 
and recognizes how God made them for each 
other. It is the power by which a man loses 
himself and becomes but the sympathetic 
atmosphere between the truth on the one side 
of him and the man on the other side of him." 
And in the treatment of themes the lecturer 
urged, as he so well exhibited in his own work, 
breadth of handling, "largeness of movement, 
the great utterance of great truths, the great 



358 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

enforcement of great duties, as distinct from 
the minute, and subtle, and ingenious treatment 
of little topics, side issues of the soul's life, 
bits of anatomy, the bric-a-brac of theology." 
No one has urged more earnestly than Phillips 
Brooks the need of having a man stand behind 
the Word, a man wide in sympathies, deep in 
thought, and manly, speaking out of the ful- 
ness of his life. 

The age certainly heard Phillips Brooks, and 
it was, in a measure, because he carried out in 
his practice the principles that he laid down 
in his lectures. But the age also heard him 
because he was a great man with a large soul 
and a rich personality with a genius for spir- 
itual expression. His various volumes of ser- 
mons, from the first, published in 1878, to the 
last, printed after his death, in 1896, were as 
successful in their sales as many popular 
novels. Not since Bushnell and Beecher was 
there such a universally known and loved 
clergyman as Phillips Brooks. The volumes 
of sermons that became most noted were, " The 
Candle of the Lord and other Sermons," " Ser- 
mons preached in English Churches," "Twenty 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 359 

Sermons," and "The Light of the World and 
other Sermons." These sermons were pub- 
lished during his life and received the final 
revision from his own hand. The other vol- 
umes, " Sermons for the Principal Festivals 
and Fasts of the Church Year " and " New 
Starts in Life," were collected and printed 
after his death. 

Though Mr. Brooks did not like to refer to 
the sermon as a work of art to be elaborately 
wrought out with the self-consciousness of a 
literary achievement, in his own case each ser- 
mon was as much an artistic whole as if it 
had been a poem. The central idea, either the 
subject chosen, or the brilliant metaphor of 
the text, was wrought into the body of the 
work as related to every part of it and made 
more distinct rather than confused by the sub- 
divisions and applications. As an illustration 
of this unity of plan and thought, " The 
Symmetry of Life " may be taken. The con- 
ception of a rounded and complete human life 
is likened to the mystic city, " the holy Jeru- 
salem," of which it was said, " the Length and 
the Breadth and the Height of it are equal." 



36o THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

This sermon finds its natural divisions in the 
three dimensions of a full human life, its 
length, its breadth, and its height. The ser- 
mon called " The Wings of the Seraphim," 
drawn from Isaiah's glowing imagery, finds 
natural and artistic divisions in the theme 
itself. Each seraph had " six wings ; with 
twain he covered his face, and with twain he 
covered his feet, and with twain he did fly." 
The wings covering the face represented rev- 
erence, those covering the feet, self-efface- 
ment, those with which he did fly illustrated 
active obedience ; and these are used to pic- 
ture the reverent, self-sacrificing, and obedient 
life. Many other examples might be given as 
in "The Pattern in the Mount" or "Back- 
grounds and Foregrounds " to show the dra- 
matic unity of these discourses. There is a 
scheme, almost a deliberate plot, in each ser- 
mon which it is interesting to watch as it 
develops through to the climax. 

As striking as is the form of these sermons 
the subject-matter is what makes them great. 
They are filled with vitality. They deal not 
with abstract doctrines so much as with life. 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 361 

They express the opinions, the judgments, and 
the ideals of a man who was intensely living in 
every part of his nature, full of enthusiasm and 
loving humanity. The sermons, therefore, are 
great interpretations of human life in its com- 
plexity, failures, and possibilities. Scattered 
throughout them are to be found epigrams, 
wise sayings, fascinating similes, the principles 
of the statesman, the love of the patriot, the 
ardor of the reformer, the insight of the poet, 
and the faith of the follower of Jesus. If one 
wants to get at the views of Phillips Brooks on 
an almost infinite variety of subjects, it is only 
necessary to read his sermons. The whole 
range of his knowledge and experience he drew 
upon for his sermons, not in any pedantic way, 
for he seldom made quotations, nor in didactic 
fashions, but he used his knowledge just as 
it happened to illustrate what he was talking 
about. A street scene in Florence, a sunset 
among the Alps, a rock-hewn temple in India, 
or a bit of knowledge he picked up at a Ger- 
man university were brought into the sermons 
with as much frankness as the more special 
knowledge derived from his theological studies. 



362 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

He rarely ever preached upon topics which 
were called timely ; that is, they did not at once 
suggest contemporary events in a sensational 
way ; but the sermons were full of present inter- 
est, and the people were never left in any 
doubt what his views were on the questions of 
the hour though they were referred to indirectly 
rather than directly, A beautiful direct refer- 
ence to the occasion was when he preached in 
Westminster Abbey on the eve of the Fourth 
of July, 1880. At the end of the sermon he 
said these words which endeared him to Eng- 
lishmen and Americans alike : " If I dare," he 
said, — " generously permitted as I am to stand 
this evening in the venerable Abbey, so full of 
our history as well as yours — to claim that our 
festival shall have some sacredness for you as 
well as for us, my claim rests on the simple 
truth that to all true men the birthday of a 
nation must always be a sacred thing. For in 
our modern thought the nation is the making- 
place of men." Patriotism becomes always a 
noble thing as it is defined by the preacher in 
the application of his principle to the state, a 
frequent head in his sermons. "Two men both 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 363 

love their country : one loves her because of the 
advantage that he gets from her, the help that 
she gives to his peculiar interests. The other 
loves her for herself, for her embodiment of the 
ideas which he believes are truest and divinest 
and most human. One uses the country, the 
other asks the country to use him." 

A special characteristic of these sermons is 
the analysis of human life with the highest 
spiritual interpretation put upon every phase 
of it. The knowledge of the motives of human 
action is surprising, and the details of ambition 
and desire are most clearly seen. No duty is 
put before one without an ardent appeal in 
the very statement of it. Human character is 
scrutinized and examined as Browning analyzes. 
Phillips Brooks has written the inner biography 
of all conditions of men, with an earnestness 
and sympathy, a delicacy and refinement of 
touch that nothing can surpass, with forbear- 
ance and infinite faith in their possibilities. 
The young college man and the young busi- 
ness man, with the strength of youth and the 
attractive future of success before them, are 
favorite subjects in the sermons, as also the 



364 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

professional man, the reformer, the scholar, 
and the statesman. Where will one find a 
more manly picture of what a normal young 
life should be than in the sermon called "The 
Choice Young Man," who, according to the 
definition, "is the true young man. He is 
the human creature in whom the best material 
of the world, which is manhood, exists in its 
best condition, which is youth." The ser- 
mon on "Gamaliel" delivered at the Temple 
Church, London, in 1883, contains a beautiful 
description of the life of a teacher in relation 
to a pupil who becomes famous. Such a 
teacher is one of those men who give other 
men the chance to make history rather than 
make it themselves. They themselves are 
almost of necessity relegated to obscurity. 
The very splendor of the career of their 
pupils, of which they are the creating cause, 
makes it impossible for the world to see them ; 
" as the flash of fire from the gun's mouth 
and the rush of the burning shell on its tre- 
mendous way makes it impossible to see the 
gun itself in whose deep heart the power was 
conceived and born." 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 365 

Of the poetic use of the imagination in the 
sermons, there are many examples, both in 
the structure of the writings themselves and 
in the details. The mind of Phillips Brooks 
was of the poet's delicate make. Noble poetry 
thrilled him, and through the sweep of his 
imagination he seemed to behold truth as a 
reality. The vision and the ideal became facts 
to him through the penetrative and interpre- 
tative insight of the imagination. Occasionally 
he wrote verse. Little of it has ever been 
printed. The best known of his lines are in 
the " Christmas Carol," which he wrote for 
the children of his Sunday-school, and were 
then incorporated in "The Hymnal" of the 
Episcopal church : — 

" O little town of Bethlehem ! 

How still we see thee lie ; 
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep 

The silent stars go by ; 
Yet in thy dark streets shineth 

The everlasting Light ; 
The hopes and fears of all the years 

Are met in thee to-night." 

When Mr. Brooks returned from his last trip 
abroad in 1892, he wrote a sonnet which has 



366 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

since been printed as a slight prologue to the 
volume " New Starts in Life." It is called 
" The Waiting City," and contains the image 
of the perfect city with the ideal life for each 
soul waiting for the entrance of the rightful 
owner : — 

" A city throned upon the height behold, 
Wherein no foot of man as yet has trod, 
The City of Man's Life fulfilled in God, 

Bathed all in light, with open gates of gold ; 

Perfect the City is in tower and street ; 
And there a palace for each mortal waits, 
Complete and perfect, at whose outer gates 

An Angel stands its occupant to greet." 

The sermons are full of imagery, as in " The 
Sea of Glass mingled with Fire," "The Giant 
with the Wounded Heel," "The Fire and the 
Calf," " The Curse of Meroz," and " The Mys- 
tery of Light." The sea and the forests are 
given a dim kind of personality which expresses 
itself in the language of parable. The moun- 
tain rivulet and the great tides of the ocean 
have a message for men. The noble building 
or the beautiful jewel sends abroad an uplift- 
ing influence and makes an appeal to the 
soul. It was this feeling that made him bring 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 367 

home from India gorgeous robes, because he 
loved them for their color, and necklaces of 
native stones, because their brilliancy fasci- 
nated him. As he pictured transcendent scenes 
of human thought and imagination, it was most 
natural for him to use these colors and jewels 
as pigments to heighten the effect. His love 
for art is well illustrated by the intensity of 
his feeling when he saw for the first time 
at Dresden the " Madonna di San Sisto." 
"There is no use," he writes, "trying to tell 
what a man feels who has been waiting to 
enjoy something for fifteen years, and, when 
it comes, finds it something unspeakably 
beyond what he had dreamed." All this 
love for beauty in art, nature, and the soul's 
life permeates the sermons and makes them 
rich and brilliant. 

Whatever one may decide to be the power 
of Phillips Brooks as a preacher, it must 
include the total impression of the man's 
work as that of a great personality, doing 
his duty, as he conceives it, in uplifting 
human life by the presentation of truth. One 
cannot omit his interpretations of history, as 



368 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

the Divine influence is seen in the growth 
and decay of civilization, or his emphasis on 
life as a gift of God with the continuity of 
God's influence throughout the individual's 
experience coming through the crisis and 
loves and consecrations of each man's life as 
it enters " The Beautiful Gate of the Temple," 
which is childhood, and runs its course to 
"The Certain End," which is death, the name 
for a new beginning in a higher sphere of 
life. It is impossible to consider a preacher 
apart from his philosophy or, if you please, 
his theology. In the theology of the man is 
to be seen the underlying currents of his 
thought, and those controlling conceptions 
which color and temper his intellectual and 
spiritual life. It has sometimes been said that 
Phillips Brooks was not a theologian. In the 
scholastic and pedantic sense this may be true, 
though few men were more familiar with the 
history of the church and the doctrinal con- 
troversies. He knew them at first hand, read- 
ing the contemporary books of the special 
discussions in the original tongues. But 
above this he was a theologian by the use of 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 369 

his own powers of reasoning as applied to 
nature, history, man's Hfe, and God. He 
arrived at truth often by a splendid intuition. 
Knowing the facts of man's life, he inter- 
preted them, after analysis and induction in 
the light of God, and stated his conclusions 
in simple form. He nowhere propounded 
and defended a system as the older theolo- 
gians did, but every sermon and public ad- 
dress had in it the essential ideas of his 
theology. He may not be called a system- 
atic theologian, but he must be recognized as 
a creative theologian, giving new thoughts and 
conceptions concerning God's relations to man. 
He was influenced, to a greater or less degree, 
by Coleridge, Robertson, Maurice, and Kings- 
ley, in England, and by Schleiermacher and 
the German poets, feeling the same impulse 
of the mystical and philosophical thought 
which wrought in Carlyle and Ruskin. 

Of the same general nature as the sermons 
were the Bohlen Lectures delivered in Philadel- 
phia in 1879 and published under the title "The 
Influence of Jesus." The lectures are four in 
number, and deal with the subject of the influ- 

3B 



370 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

cnce of Jesus on the moral, social, emotional, and 
intellectual life of man. In their completeness 
and minute study of the person and work of Jesus 
they constitute an interpretative Life of Christ. 
They do not retell the story of the outer life of 
Jesus, the incidents and experiences of his career, 
but they examine his thought and methods of 
teaching, the faith that lay behind the outward 
act, his conception of man's spiritual nature, his 
relationship to individuals and social forces, and 
his idea of truth as an intellectual attainment. 
The lectures on the influence of Jesus on the 
social and intellectual life of man are striking, as 
is also the one dealing with the influence of Christ 
on the emotional life. In this last-named lecture 
there occurs the interesting discussion whether 
Jesus had anything in his nature of what we 
call the sense of artistic beauty. While acknowl- 
edging the impetus given to the growth of art 
by the church, which must have come from the 
moral harmony of the person of the founder of 
the church, the lecturer is compelled to say that 
the great impression of the life of Jesus must 
always be " of the subordinate importance of 
those things in which only the aesthetic nature 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 37 1 

finds its pleasure. There is no condemnation 
of them in that wise, deep life. But the fact 
always must remain that the wisest, deepest life 
that ever lived left them on one side, was satis- 
fied without them." Of the social life of Jesus 
the key to it is discovered in the desire to foster 
the consciousness of sonship by intercourse with 
all who are fellow-sons of the same Father. 
The social gospel appears in the scenes of the 
nativity, where there is a father, a mother, and 
a child ; and Mr. Brooks adds : " No religion 
which began like that could ever lose its char- 
acter. The first unit of human life, the soul, is 
there in the new-born personality of the child- 
hood. But the second unit of human life, the 
family, is just as truly there in the familiar rela- 
tion of husband and wife and the sacred, eternal 
mystery of motherhood." Of the patriotism of 
Jesus there is a noble account which is a defini- 
tion of the truest love of country. "There is 
something," he said, "in the quality of his 
patriotism which is peculiar, which separates 
it from the patriotism of the Athenian or the 
Roman. What is that quality ? It is the con- 
stant predominance of the sonship to God over 



372 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

the sonship to David in his consciousness, mak- 
ing him always eager for the land of David, 
because of the interests of God which it en- 
shrined." The favorite word of the intellectual 
life of Jesus is truth, but truth with a moral 
element in it. It is not simply search for facts, 
but a spiritual appreciation of the deepest facts, 
the greatest men being those in whom you 
cannot separate their mental and moral lives. 
In the comparison between Socrates and Jesus it 
is shown that " Socrates argues, Jesus reveals." 
When the last conversation of Socrates, as re- 
lated in the Phsedo, is put beside the last inter- 
view of Jesus with his disciples the difference 
between the two is made manifest. Socrates 
has stoicism which enables him to joke with his 
friends, but to Jesus it is a supreme experience 
of love and a setting forth of love as an element 
in truth. Mr. Brooks contended for the sym- 
metry of truth, comprehensive and harmonious 
in all its parts. " Truth, when it is won," he 
asserts, " is the possession of the whole nature. 
By the action of the whole nature only can it 
be gained." 

"The Influence of Jesus " is one of the few 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 373 

attempts of Phillips Brooks to write a book 
on a chosen subject, sustained throughout the 
whole of it. His other books, with the excep- 
tion of "The Lectures on Preaching," are col- 
lections of separate sermons or orations. In 
the volume under consideration we have there- 
fore an example of his powers in consecutive 
thought, and in drawing with freedom upon 
his knowledge of the New Testament, history, 
and philosophy. It contains the essence of 
his thought, expressed with the characteristic 
virility of his style. 

It was natural that Mr. Brooks, with his 
great reputation as a preacher, should be 
asked to lend the weight of his words to 
many public occasions, like anniversaries, dedi- 
cations, meetings in behalf of charities, and 
conferences of associations. His presence at 
such times always gave a new interest to the 
assemblage ; and it was not until he had fin- 
ished speaking that those present felt that the 
final word had been said. He dominated every 
such meeting, for he not only expressed its 
meaning, but put upon it the most spiritual 
interpretation. While others might instruct, 



374 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

and argue, and even amuse, he immediately 
lifted the whole occasion upon a higher plane, 
and connected the particular subject or event 
with the movement of the world-forces making 
for righteousness. He once said, " Never fear 
to bring the sublimest motive to the smallest 
duty, and the most infinite comfort to the 
smallest trouble." This was his own method. 
He dealt with the simplest subject in the pro- 
phetic mood, which possessed him at once 
when he brought his whole nature to consider 
the subject assigned to him. His occasional 
addresses, therefore, are among his best work, 
and rightfully take their place by the side of 
the great American orations. 

Some of these addresses are collected in a 
volume, called " Essays and Addresses," pub- 
lished in 1894, after his death. This book indi- 
cates the variety of his gifts, the exactness of 
his scholarship, his knowledge of history and 
literature, and his keen analysis of the charac- 
ters of many of the world's greatest men. 
"The Purposes of Scholarship," delivered be- 
fore the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Brown's 
University, in 1869, is a superb description of 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 375 

the ideal uses of scholarship under the inspira- 
tion of which the scholar performs his duty to 
the world as prophet, philosopher, ruler, and 
saint. " Milton as an Educator," prepared for 
the Massachusetts Teachers' Association, in 
1874, presents the great poet in a new light, 
and adds to the message of his verse the great 
principles of his prose writings. It is shown 
that this " typical Englishman was a school- 
master, and one of the most thoughtful and 
suggestive reasoners on education that the Eng- 
lish race ever produced," whose thoughts on 
ideal education were marked by their natural- 
ness, practicalness, and nobleness. Though the 
experience of Mr. Brooks as a teacher was far 
from pleasant, he always had the most pro- 
found interest in the subject of education. 
Schools and colleges were a delight to him, 
especially the Boston Latin School and Harvard 
University. Outside of his own church there 
was no place that held so deep a place in his 
affections as Harvard. He was one of the 
trustees, preacher to the University, and ap- 
pointed to,the Plummer Professorship of Morals, 
which he declined. There was no preacher 



376 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

whom the students loved as they did Phillips 
Brooks. They were proud of him, and claimed 
him as their own. When he conducted morn- 
ing prayer in the chapel or saw them privately 
in Wadsworth House, they felt that religion 
must be true if such a man believed in it ; and 
his manly and straightforward ideas appealed 
to them as no theological reasoning would 
have done. The personality of the great man 
swayed by great thoughts was an object lesson 
in vital religion which inspired them. The 
Baccalaureate sermon by Phillips Brooks was 
always an event of the first importance. His 
conception of the Harvard spirit, the college 
being to him, as he expressed it, " a living per- 
sonality," was that of a wholesome and manly 
courageousness. The same feelings are shown 
in the oration delivered at the two hundred and 
fiftieth anniversary of the Boston Latin School 
in 1885. The finest historical sense is revealed 
in drawing the pictures of the great school- 
masters during this whole period, from the 
shadowy Philemon Pormort to Francis Gard- 
ner, "the most patient mortal and the most im- 
patient." " A great school is a great person,' 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 377 

he said, " only it has what we men vainly 
desire, the privilege of growing mature without 
any of the weakness of growing old." 

The two distinctly literary addresses are 
" Biography " and " Literature and Life." 
The first shows a great range of reading and 
a delicate perception of the true note in many 
illustrious lives ; and the second a genuine ap- 
preciation of literature as the expression of 
life. This last thought, however, runs through 
both the addresses : " Biography is, in its very 
name, the literature of life . . . and since the 
noblest life on the earth is always human life, 
the literature which deals with human life 
must always be the noblest literature ; " and 
again : " Life comes before literature as the 
material always comes before the work. To 
own and recognize this priority of life is the 
first need of literature. Literature which does 
not utter a life already existent, more funda- 
mental than itself, is shallow and unreal." 

The same dehghtful literary quality appears 
in the address at the celebration by the Evan- 
gelical Alliance of the four hundredth anni- 
versary of the birth of Martin Luther. This 



378 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

was delivered in New York City in 1883. It 
shows more than an accurate knowledge of 
the history of Luther and the Reformation ; 
it enters into the spirit of the man and the 
movement, and is full of splendid generaliza- 
tions that seem to embody the total signifi- 
cance of the whole epoch. In the personality 
of Luther, "the moralist and the mystic," is 
found the secret of his power. " Some men 
are events," the speaker said ; " it is not what 
they say or what they do, but what they are, 
that moves the world. Luther declared great 
truths ; he did great deeds ; and yet there is 
a certain sense in which his words and deeds 
are valuable only as they show him, as they 
made manifest a son of God living a strong, 
brave, clear-sighted human life." It is in this 
speech that the striking illustration occurs 
about Luther and Cromwell as the two men 
" on whom, more than on any others, the great 
gates seem to turn and open which let the 
race through from the old world into the 
new." The love that Phillips Brooks had for 
the sterner men of history, those uncompromis- 
ing men who faced opposition and carried their 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 379 

point at the cost of a revolution, is nowhere 
better illustrated than in his speech " On the 
Landing of the Pilgrims " at the dinner of the 
New England Society in Brooklyn in 1892. 
Even here he could not shake himself free 
from the homiletical spirit. As a greeting to 
the New England men he quotes from St. 
James the phrase, "to the Twelve Tribes 
which are scattered abroad," and he finds the 
text of his speech in Genesis : " ' Out of the 
Garden of Eden there came forth a river ' and 
from thence it was parted and 'divided into 
four heads like a Puritan sermon." In his 
treatment, the four rivers soon became the 
streams of religious liberty, popular govern- 
ment, universal education, and the trusteeship 
of the world, which he considered the gifts of 
Puritanism. " There is always showing itself 
out of the depths of Puritanism," he said, 
"the great public spirit which meddles with the 
things of all the earth and which will show its 
force when that force is called for. It stands 
like a rusty gun in a corner of the room ; but 
let no one ever fool with Puritanism, thinking 
it is not loaded, for by and by it will go off." 



38o THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Few men enjoyed so fully the adventures 
and irresponsible wanderings into strange 
places as he did. After his first extended 
journey, in 1865, which included a visit to 
the Holy Land, he went abroad every few 
years for rest and observation. A trip abroad 
was to him not only the " nicest, largest, and 
pleasantest life in the world," it gave him an 
opportunity to see men in various stages of 
development, to learn their customs and moods, 
to come personally in contact with history, to 
refresh his mind with new beauties and ideas, 
to meet men who were doing important work 
in the world, and to give him a grasp of life, 
both genuine and universal. Any one who 
enjoys his sermons must see how much they 
gained in picturesqueness and brilliancy from 
the experiences of foreign travel. Many of 
his most charming friendships came from his 
English and continental visits. Dean Stanley, 
Canon Farrar, and Tennyson were seen in 
their own homes, and he was a welcome guest 
at Westminster and Farringford. Tennyson 
used to read to him his poems, and enjoyed 
his large and healthy view of things. " The 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 38 1 

more my father saw of him," says Hallam 
Tennyson, " the more he reverenced his cheer- 
ful Christianity, his hard work in the cause of 
truth, and his common-sense criticism of men 
and public affairs. Not less high was the 
regard by the Bishop." 

The intense pleasure of Mr. Brooks in 
foreign travel is revealed in his letters to 
his family, which have been preserved in 
that most delightful volume the "Letters of 
Travel." It contains the full and descriptive 
letters, which he wrote with characteristic 
regularity, of his visits to many lands. He 
simply recorded his impressions as he went 
from place to place, with a comment here 
and a bit of local color there. When one 
reads them, it is like being his travelhng com- 
panion. They are unconventional and frank. 
The quality that one finds in them is that of 
a perfectly serious man who gives vent to 
the lighter sides of his nature, and revels 
with boyish delight in old ruins, ancient 
cities, curious habits, and harmless adventures. 
Lowell, once walking with a friend, saw a 
building with the sign upon it, " Home for 



382 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

Incurable Children," and remarked, "They'll 
take me there some day." The same fresh- 
ness of youth with its unexpectedness and 
curiosity were displayed by Phillips Brooks 
in his trips abroad. The letters show how 
much he had of playfulness and humor. 
" When the little children in Venice want to 
take a bath," he wrote to one of his nieces, 
"they just go down to the front steps of the 
house and jump off and swim in the street." 
When sending home money for a Christmas 
present, he wrote to the same little girl, " You 
must ask yourself what you want, but without 
letting yourself know about it, and get it, too, 
and put it in your stocking, and be very much 
surprised when you find it there." The letters 
have, however, excellent bits of description, as 
when he writes about a night at the House 
of Commons^ " It was one of the great nights 
of the Reform Bill," he said, "the best men 
on both sides spoke : Gladstone, calm, cool, 
clear, and courteous ; Disraeli, jerky, spiteful, 
personal, very telling ; Bright, honest, solid, 
indignant with the trickery and meanness of 
the opposition ; Mill, who holds people by 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 383 

sheer power of thought, as I have hardly ever 
seen any man do." Of peoples and cities 
there are good character sketches. Edinburgh 
was " the queen of cities, the most romantic, 
picturesque, un-American, old-world town that 
ever was." The Germans were "frank, kind, 
sociable, and hearty. They give you an idea 
of a people with ever so much yet to do in 
the world, capable of much fresh thought and 
action," while "Austria really seems to be no 
nation at all, made up, as it were, of a heap 
of people and languages which have no asso- 
ciation with each other." The Norwegians 
were " a most thrifty, decent, poverty-stricken 
people, perfectly honest, and not at all hand- 
some." One cannot omit the account of the 
Mohammedan Lent as it is observed by the 
men who "fast all the daytime and carry 
on all night. Their worst privation is from 
tobacco. It is terrible to go through the 
bazaars and see the poor old fellows looking 
so melancholy and cross, holding their pipes 
all ready filled, awaiting the sunset to light 
up." This privation of smoking must have 
seemed a great one to Mr. Brooks, for once, 



384 THE CLERGY IN AMERICAN LETTERS 

when visiting Windsor Castle, he was com- 
pelled, because there was no smoking room, 
to sit under the open chimney in the high 
and wide fireplace and enjoy his cigar, let- 
ting the smoke ascend without contaminating 
the air breathed by royalty. The letters, as 
a whole, are like the man, most human, and 
filled with the exuberance of a nature that 
hated artificiality and cant, but loved the whole- 
some pleasures which increased the strenuous- 
ness and impetus of manly action. 

The life of Phillips Brooks in its varied 
aspect was that of a stalwart American citizen 
who won the affection and appreciation of his 
generation by the earnestness of his life as a 
tolerant and inspiring leader in all things that 
make for the best interests of a nation. He 
was a preacher, but he was also a marked per- 
sonality, who impressed himself upon the time, 
and will ever be remembered as a representa- 
tive American to whom men will gladly refer, 
when they try to point out the possibilities of 
American manhood. When he died the city 
of Boston went into mourning, and the nation 
honored him as few men have been remem- 



PHILLIPS BROOKS 385 

bered. The strong young Harvard men who 
acted as pall-bearers, and bore him aloft upon 
their shoulders to the altar of Trinity Church, 
which is his monument, were simply represen- 
tatives of the vast numbers of men whose lives 
were truer and nobler because he lived. As 
an example of the influence of the American 
clergy in the nineteenth century, no more fit- 
ting man could be selected. 



2C 



INDEX 



Abbott, Jacob, 48, 76 ; the Rollo 
books of, on education, 'jj; 
historical books of, 78, 79, 80. 

Abbott, J. S. C, 48; books of, 
72, 73 ; his aim in writing, 73 ; 
on slavery, 75. 

Abolitionists, clergy among, 32, 
216 ; their opinion of Webster, 
251 ; Bushnell on the, 277. 

"A Bumble Bee's Thoughts on 
the Plan and Purposes of the 
Universe," Parker's, 243. 

Adams, Henry, 9. 

Adams, John, 16, 70, 196. 

Adams, J. Q., 192, 214, 244. 

Adams, Samuel, 68. 

Addison, Rev. W. D., 24. 

"Additional Speeches," Parker's, 

257- 
" A Discourse of Matters Pertain- 
ing to Religion," Parker's, 236, 

237- 
"A Dissertation on the Bible," 

Dwight's, 159. 
" A Fable for Critics," Lowell's, 

229. 
"A Face Illumined," Roe's, 112. 
"A Family Tablet," A. Holmes's, 

66. 
"Airs of Palestine," Pierpont's, 

85. 245- 
Alabama, 255. 
Albany, 259. 
Alcott, 241. 
Alexander, Archibald, 119; as 



theologian, 137; writings of, 

140. 
Alexandria, 256, 342, 344. 
Allen, Thomas, 19. 
Allston, Washington, 107, 192. 
Alsop, Richard, 161. 
American Antiquarian Society, 

64. ■ 
American Colonization Society, 

139- 
American hymnology, the growth 

of. 97 ! writers of, 97-102. 
Andover Academy, 343. 
Andover Theological Seminary, 

185, 293. 
Andrews, James O., 31. 
" An Essay on the Stage," 

Dwight's, 182. 
"Annals of America," K, 

Holmes's, 61. 
Anselm, 298. 
Antioch College, 289. 
"Antony Brade," 92. 
Appleton, Nathaniel, 62. 
Arbor Day, 104. 
Arminianism, 129. 
Arnold, Matthew, 109. 
Asbury, 114. 

Atlantic Monthly, 336, 35Z 
Augusta, Me., 103. 
Austria, 383. 

Bacon, Leonard, 100. 
Baird, Robert, 119. 
Baldwin, Thomas, 101. 



387 



388 



INDEX 



Bale, 245. 

Ballou, Hosea, 44; hymns of, 
loi ; writings of, 141 ; as a 
Unitarian, 142; humor of, 143. 

Baltimore, 12S, 198, 255. 

Baltimore Herald, 118. 

Bancroft, George, 121, 262. 

Baptists, hymns of, loi ; writers 
among, 113; Professor Dimon 
on, 117; theology of, 117; mis- 
sionary society of, 118. 

Barlow, Joel, 161. 

Barnes, Albert, 119. 

" Barriers Burned Away," Roe's, 
no. 

Bartol, Cyrus, 293. 

Bass, Edward, 16. 

Baur, 234, 245. 

Baxter, Joseph, 26. 

Beecher, Henry Ward, visits 
England, 36 ; novels of, 102 ; 
home of, 127; boyhood of, 304 ; 
early days, 305 ; at Lawrence- 
burg, 306; early journalistic 
work of, 306; called to Plym- 
outh Church, 307 ; preaches to 
crowds, 308 ; studies of men 
and things, 309; presence and 
manner of, 310; Dr. Storrs's 
estimate of, 311 ; theology of, 
313; on evolution, 315-317; 
lectures at Yale, 317; humor 
of, 319; as a journalist, 322; 
an editor, 324; writes "Star 
Papers," 325 ; writes " Nor- 
wood," 326; on slavery, 329; 
as a politician, 330; during 
Civil War, 331 ; his speeches 
in England, 333-339; after the 
Civil War, 339; estimate of, 
340 ; lectures of, 356 ; fame Oi, 
358. 

Beecher, Lyman, on duelling, 26 ; 
on temperance, 27, 126; influ- 



ence on Henry Ward, 304; 
accused of heresy, 305 ; on loud 
pri-aching, 320. 

Beethoven Musical Society, 271. 

Belknap, Jeremy, 48; histories 
of. 54. 55. 56 ; writes " The For- 
resters," 56, 57; diary of, during 
the Revolution, 59; writes 
" Life of Isaac Watts," 60; on 
General Lee, 60. 

Bellows, Dr., 107. 

Bennington, 19. 

Berkeley, Bishop, 49, 196. 

" Biography," Brooks's, 377. 

Birney, J. G., 216, 219, 322. 

Bladensburg, 24. 

Blair, James, 6. 

Bohlen Lectures, 369. 

Bonner, Robert, 326. 

Boston, 129, 130 198 ; Ministerial 
Association of, 236 ; Parker in, 
245, 246 ; fugitive slaves in, 252, 
254; capitalists of, 254, 255; 
and Alexandria, 256; John 
Brown in, 257; Kansas Com- 
mittee of, 258 ; Phillips Brooks 
in, 342. 

Boston Gazette, 64. 

Boston Latin School, 343, 375. 

Boston Port Act, 59. 

Boston University, 116. 

Brainard, David, 40. 

Brainard, John, 100. 

Brattle, William, 62. 

Breckenridge, John, 119, 124. 

Bridgeport, 285. 

Bright, John, 382. 

Brook Farm, 241, 245. 

Brooklyn, 308, 322. 

Brooklyn Fourteenth Regiment, 

332- 
Brooks, Phillips, a representative 
preacher, 132; Holmes's esti- 
mate oi,'%{i\ elected bishop 



INDEX 



389 



342 ; birth of, 342 ; early life of, 
342; in college, 343 ; teacher in 
Latin School, 343 ; early writ- 
ings, 344 ; on slavery, 345 ; at 
Harvard Commemoration, 
350; extemporaneous speeches 
of, 351 ; as a preacher, 353-356 ; 
his " Lectures on Preaching," 
356 ; sermons of, 359 ; preaches 
in Westminster Abbey, 362 ; 
poems of, 365 ; delivers the 
Bohlen lectures, 369; theology 
of, 369 ; speaks on various 
occasions, 372; his love for 
Harvard, 375 ; Baccalaureate 
sermons of, 376 ; literary ad- 
dresses of, 377 ; on Martin 
Luther, 378 ; addresses the 
New England Society, 379 ; his 

. love of foreign travel, 380; 
Tennyson on, 380; his "Let- 
ters of Travel," 381; visits 
House of Commons, 382; es- 
timate of, 384; at Windsor 
Castle, 384 ; death of, 384. 

Brown, John, raid of, 230, 249; in 
Boston, 257, 258 ; execution of, 
258 ; Parker on, 258 ; chains 
of, 311. 

Brown, J. N., loi. 

Brown University, 7, 117; Way- 
land, president of, 144 ; oration 
of Phillips Brooks at, 374. 

Browning, 363. 

Brownson, Augustus, 125. 

Brownson's Qua7-terly Review, 
125. 

Buckminster, Joseph, 22. 

Bull Run, 3S0. 

Bunker Hill, 164, 189, 284. 

" Burden of Dumah," Dwight's, 
181. 

Burgess, George, loi, 135. 

Burns, Anthony, 255. 



Burr, Aaron, 25, 26, 

Bushnell, Horace, 32, 125; de- 
fended by Porter, 127 ; frag- 
ment of his biography, 268 ; 
early days of, 270; influence of, 
270; in college, 271; news- 
paper work of, 272; travels 
abroad, 273 ; writes to the Pope, 
273; sermons of, 275; on 
slavery, 276; his Fast Day ser- 
mon, 277; on Bull Run, 280; 
on parochial schools, 281 ; 
secures a park in Hartford, 
283 ; speech before the New 
England Society, 286; on 
Womans' Suffrage, 288 ; reli- 
gious writings of, 290-293 ; 
speaks at Yale, Andover, and 
Harvard, 293; writes "Chris- 
tian Nurture," 294; writes 
"God in Christ," 297; heresy 
of, 298 ; his " Moral Use of 
Dark Things," 300 ; humor of, 
301 ; estimate of, 302; fame of, 
358. 

Butler, General, 330. 

Byles, Mather, 2, 100. 

Cabot, J. E., 243. 

Caesarea, 109. 

" Caleb Williams," Godwin's, 197. 

Calhoun, John C, 323. 

California, 129, 270, 272, 281. 

Canada, 254. 

Carlyle, 245, 273, 369. 

Carol, John, 123. 

Cartwright, Peter, 115. 

Channing, Henry, 194. 

Channing, William EUery, on 
War of 1812, 22; on temper- 
ance, 28 ; on the abolitionists, 
32 ; at the ordination of Jared 
Sparks, 128 ; a conservative, 
129 ; literary work of, 191 ; 



390 



INDEX 



Renan on, 191; Martineau on, 
192; birth of, 193; tutor in 
Virginia, 193; early life of, 193; 
classmates of, 194; in New- 
London, 194; his moral purity, 
195 ; books tliat he read, 196 ; 
in Richmond, 196; enters the 
ministry, 197 ; in Federal Street 
Church, 198 ; appearance of, 
199 ; as a preacher, 199 ; the- 
ology of, 200 ; answers Calvin- 
ism, 201 ; in the Unitarian con- 
troversy, 202; on associations, 
203 ; characteristics of, 204- 
206; writings of, 206; on Mil- 
ton, Napoleon, and F6nelon, 
206; on poetry, 207; on " Na- 
tional Literature," 210; on pol- 
itics, 213; a Federalist, 214; 
his idea of the Union, 215 ; 
on slavery, 217; on emancipa- 
tion, 218; on division of the 
Union, 221 ; on the duty of the 
free States, 222; on social re- 
form, 222; on war, 224; on 
education, 227; death of, 227. 

Channing, William H., 130, 241, 
244, 245. 

Chapin, E. H., loi. 

Chautauqua, 116. 

Cheever, Gospel Preacher, 333. 

Christian Examiner, 130, 206. 

" Christian Nurture," Bushnell's, 
294-296. 

Church of England, 92, 131. 

Cincinnati yournal, 306, 322. 

Civil War, 36, no,' 245, 259, 278, 

330, 331. 33'^. 343. 350- 
Clark, B'shop, 341. 
Clarke, J. F., 130. 
Clay, Henry, 26; letter to, 216; 

Channing to, 220; Bushnell 

refers to, 278, 323. 
Cleaveland, Aaron, 30. 



Cobbe, Frances Power, 259. 
Coke, 114. 
Coleridge, 369. 
Colgate University, 117. 
College of California, 282. 
Columbia University, 7, 44. 
Columbian Magazine, 56. 
Concord, 245. 
Congregational Church, clergy 

of, 44; hymn-writers of, 100; 

hymns of, loi ; writers of, 113; 

theology of, 125; and Unita- 

rianism, 128. 
Connecticut, 270; Bushnell on, 

283-285; virtues of, 285. 
Connecticut Academy of Arts 

and Sciences, 185. 
Continental Congress, 16. 
Cooke, Samuel, 13. 
Cornwall-on-the-Hudson, no. 
Cornwallis, General, 160. 
Cotton, John, 343. 
Cowper, 164. 
Coxe, A. C, 85, loi, 136. 
Crabbe, 326. 
Craft, Ellen, 253. 
Craft, William, 252, 253. 
Cromwell, Oliver, 378. 
Croswell, William, 85; poetry of, 

89-92 ; hymns of, 99 ; as a 

poet, 132. 
Cuba, 272. 

Dartmouth College, 7. 
"Darwinism," Hodges's, 148. 
Davics, Samuel, 5, 100, 119. 
Denham, Sir John, 171. 
Denominational literature, 113, 

137- 
De Tocqueville, 54. 
De Wette, 234, 245. 
Dewey, Orville, 129. 
Dickinson, 119. 
Dickinson College, 116. 



INDEX 



391 



Disraeli, 382. 

Dixwell, 49, 51. 

Doane, G. W., 85, 99, loi. 

Dollinger, Dr., 113. 

" Domestic Slavery," Wayland's, 
144. 

Dresden, 367. 

Drew Theological Seminary, 116. 

Duche, Rev. M., 16. 

Duelling, 23, 24. 

Duffield, George, 99. 

" Duty of the Free States," Chan- 
ning's, 222. 

Dwi.uht, Timothy, schools of, 5 ; 
at Yale, 7, 52, 176 ; songs of, 20 ; 
on the War of 1812, 22; on 
duelling, 25 ; a poet, 85 ; hymns 
of, 100, 175 ; birth of, 157 ; edu- 
cation of, 157; at college, 158; 
early writings of, 159; a chap- 
lain, 159 ; poems of, 160 ; Alsop 
on, 161 ; his " The Conquest of 
Canaan," 162; in the legisla- 
ture, 165 ; in Greenfield, 165 ; 
his poem toColoiiel Humphrey, 
166; writes "The Triumph of 
Infidelity," 167 ; criticism of, 
168; writes "Greenfield Hill," 
170; on slavery, 173 ; describes 
the country minister, 174; 
minor poems of, 175 ; his 
method of writing, 177; the- 
ology of, 178-180; on George 
Washington, 180; on Jeffer- 
son, 181 ; ofFc-rs a Thanks- 
giving, 181 ; writes on the stage, 
182; his position in New Eng- 
land, 184; writes "Travels," 
185 ; Soutliey's opinion of, 185 ; 
note books of, 186 ; death of 
190 ; estimate of, 190, 

Earl of Shaftsbury, 223. 
Eaton, Rev. Mr., 2. 



Eaton, Samuel, 19. 

Edinburgh, 335, 337, 383. 

Edwards, Jonathan, 39, 40, 125, 
138, 139, 157, 179, 200. 

Eliot, William, 34. 

Ellsworth, Oliver, 189. 

" Elsie Venner," Holmes's, 66. 

Embury, Phillip, 114. 

Emerson, Joseph, 194. 

Emerson, R. W., ancestors of, 
4; on the abolitionists, 33; on 
Parker, 230; resigns his paiish, 
240; his Iriendship for Parker, 
241; leaves the ministry, 244; 
writings of, 244; at Concord, 

245- 

Einmons, Nathaniel, 126. 

Episcopal Church, 15; hymn- 
writers of, loo-ioi ; literature 
of, 131; theology of, 132; 
prayer-book of, 136; Phillips 
Brooks enters, 342; hymnal 
of, 365- 

Episcopal Theological School, 
Cambridge, 148. 

Erskine, John, 139, 149. 

"Essays and Addresses," 
Brooks's, 374. 

Evangelical Alliance, 377. 

" Evolution and Religion," Beech- 
er's, 315. 

Ewald, 245. 

Fairfax, General, 263. 
Faneuil Hall, 250, 255. 
Fariar, Canon, 380. 
Farringford, 380. 
" Feast of the Sacred Heart," 

Ryan's, 96. 
Federalists, 11, 14, 215. 
Federal Street Society, 227. 
F^nelon, 206, 209. 
Ferguson, 196. 
Fillmore, Millard, 253, 262. 



392 



INDEX 



Fiske, Wilbur, 115. 
Florence, 230, 259, 266, 361. 
Fort Sumter, 331. 
Fowler, 305. 

Franklin, Benjamin, 48, 49, 71, 336. 
Franklin, Mass., 125. 
Fremont Campaign, 330. 
Fremont Park, Philadelphia, 120. 
French, Rev. Mr., 2. 
French Revolution, 181, 201. 
Frothingham, O. B., 82. 
Fugitive Slave Bill, 32, 250. 
Fuller, Margaret, 241. 
Fuller, Richard, 117. 

Gage, General, 59. 
Gallaudet, Th., 100. 
Gardiner, J. S. J., 23. 
Gardner, Francis, 343, 376. 
Garfield, President, 151. 
Garrettson, 114, 146. 
General Association of Connecti- 
cut, 298. 
Georgetown, 123. 
Germans, poets of, 265 ; Parker's 

knowledge of, 233 ; description 

of, 383- 
Germany, 121 ; philosophy of, 

233; thought of, 234; Parker 

in, 245. 
Gettysburg, 329. 
Gladstone, 382. 
Glasgow, 335. 

" God in Christ," Bushnell's, 297. 
Goethe, 234. 
Goffe, 49, 51. 
Goldsmith, Oliver, 171. 
Grant, General, 339. 
Greenfield, Conn., 6, 165, 167, 177, 

178. 
"Greenfield Hill." Dwight's, 85, 

170, 175- 
Griswold, A. V., loi. 
Griswold, R. W., 85. 



Haeckel, 314. 

Halle, 148. 

Hallock, Moses, 5. 

Hamilton, Alexander, 16, 25, 26, 

155- 
Hamilton, Sir William, I2I. 
Harper's Ferry, 249. 
Harper s Magazine, 74. 
Harris, S. S., 249. 
Hart, Levi, 30. 
Hartford, 270, 272, 282, 285, 

293- 

Hartford Convention, 22, 214. 

Hartford Central Association, 298. 

Harvard University, 6, 44; Uni- 
tarianism in, 129; Channing in, 
194; Parker in, 232; Divinity 
School of, 293; Bushnellat,297; 
Phillips Brooks 31,342; Com- 
memoration Service at, 350; 
Phillips Brooks's love for, 375 ; 
young men of, at Phillips 
Brooks's funeral, 385. 

Hastings, Thomas, 100. 

Hawkes, F. L., 134. 

Hiiwthorne, Nathaniel, 2. 

Heber, Bishop, 88. 

Hedge, F. H., 101, 130, 24X. 

Hegel, 148. 

Heidelberg, 148. 

Heine, 265. 

Hemenway, Moses, 30. 

Henry, Patrick, 5. 

Herbert, George, 89. 

Highland Falls, N.Y., no. 

" His Sombre Rival," Roe's, 112. 

" Historical Estimate of Connec- 
ticut," Bushnell's, 283. 

"History of the Civil War," 
Abbott's, 75. 

" History of New England," Pal- 
frey's, 81. 

Hobart College, 133. 

Hobart, J. H., 132. 



INDEX 



393 



Hodge, Charles, 119, 137, 146-148. 

Hollis Street Society, 242. 

Holmes, Abiel, home of, 5; ser- 
mons of, 48, 61 ; histories of, 
63, 64 ; founds societies, 64 ; 
preaches on the forefathers of 
New England, 65 ; on Wash- 
ington, 65 ; poetry of, 66, 

125- 

Holmes, O. W., home of, 4; 
childhood of, 60 ; on Beecher, 
336, 339; on Phillips Brooks, 

341- 

Hooker, Thomas, 62. 

Hopkins, J. H., 35, 134. 

Hopkins, Lemuel, 161. 

Hopkins, Mark, 7, 125; a theo- 
logian, 137; writings of, 151- 

153- 

Hopkins, Samuel, 125, 137; as a 
theologian, 137; doctrines of, 
138; on slavery, 139; influ- 
ences Channing, 193 ; Chan- 
ning's opinion of, 200. 

Hopkinsianism, 126, 179. 

Hughes, Archbishop, 36, 123. 

Hume, David, 167, 168, 179. 

Humphrey, Colonel, 165. 

Hunter, William, loi. 

Hutchinson, Governor, 50. 

Ide, G. B., loi. 

India, 361, 367. 

Indiana yournal, 307. 

Indianapolis, 306. 

Intuitional School of Philosophy, 

233. 
Italy, 231, 260, 273. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 20, 21, 24. 
Johnson, Samuel, 4. 
Jouffroy, 245. 
yournal of Commerce, zy2. 
Judd, Sylvester, 102, 103-106. 



Judson, Adoniram, loi, 118. 
"Julian," Ware's, 108. 

Kansas, 257, 330. 
Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 32. 
Kansas War, 249, 257, 258. 
Kant, 234. 

Kenrick, F. P., 123, 134. 
Kent, 324. 

King, Thomas Star, 34, 129. 
King's Chapel, Boston, 97. 
Kingsley, Charles, 102, 369. 
Kneeland, Abner, loi, 143. 
Knickerbocker Magazine, 106. 
Know-nothing movement, 124. 

Lafayette, 72. 

Lamartine, 73. 

Lane Theological Seminary, 126. 

Law, Governor, 49. 

Lawrenceburg, 306. 

" Lectures on Moral Education," 

Abbott's, 77. 
"Lectures on Preaching," 

Beecher's, 318-321. 
"Lectures on Preaching," 

Brooks's, 356. 
" Lectures on Washington AU- 

ston," Ware's, 107. 
Lee, General Charles, 60. 
Leiber, 324. 
Leighton, 45. 
Leland, John, 99. 
" Letters from Palmyra," Ware's, 

108. 
" Letters of Travel," Brooks's, 

381. 
" Life of Christ," Beecher's, 339. 
" Life of Ezra Stiles," by A. 

Holmes, 62. 
" Life of Isaac Watts," Belknap's, 

60. 
Lincoln, Abraham, 35, 339, 346, 

349- 



394 



INDEX 



Litclifield, Conn., 270. 

" Litt-r,iture and Life," Brooks's, 

377- 

Liverpool, 130, 335, 337. 

Locke, 4, 196, 209. 

"Log College," Alexander's, 140. 

London, 273, 335. 

London 1 imes, 335. 

Longfellow, H. VV., loi. 

Lonyfi'Uow, Samuel, loi. 

Louibiana, 255. 

Louisville, 124. 

Lowell, Dr., 4. 

Lowell, J. R., his Harvard ad- 
dress, i; home of, 4; on Pal- 
frey, 81; on Parker, 229; his 
boyishness, 381. 

Loweil Lectures, 133. 

Lowell, R. T. S., 85; poetry of, 
92; during Civil War, 94; 
novels of, 102; a poet, 132. 

Luther, Martin, 229, 293, 377. 

Lutherans, 113. 

Lyman, Phinehas, 189. 

Madison, Bishop, 21. 

Maine, 135. 320. 

Manchester, 333, 336. 

Mann, Horace, 227. 

" Mrtrgaret," judd's, 103, 104-106. 

Marshall, Chief Justice, 16. 

Martineau, 192, 240, 245, 253. 

Mason, Mr., 338. 

Massachusetts Historical Society, 
64. 

Massachusetts Sabbath School, 
294. 

Massachusetts Teachers' Associ- 
ation, 375. 

Massachusetts Temperance So- 
ciety, 28. 

Mather, Cotton, 26, 39, 125. 

Maurice, F. D., 149, 369. 

Mayhew, 13, 17, 68. 



McCosh, James, 7, 137, 153-156. 

Mclivane, Bishop, 30, 37. 

Meade, William, 35, 133. 

Melodeon, 246. 

Mercersburg, 131. 

Methodist Church, on slavery, 
30; division in, 31; abolition- 
ists among, 32; Lincoln on, 
36; preachers of, 43; hymns 
of, loi ; writers of, 113; theol- 
ogy of, 114-117. 

Mexican War, 221. 

Mexico, 220. 

Michigan, 136. 

Middlebury College, 282. 

Mill, J. S.,'i55, 382. 

"Milton as an Educator," 
Brooks's, 375. 

Milton, John, 206, 208. 

Minnesota, 272. 

Missouri Compromise, 11, 278. 

Moody, Rev. Joseph, 2. 

" Moral Science," Alexander's 
140. 

" Moral Uses of Dark Things," 
Bushnell's, 300. 

More, Archbishop, 70. 

Muhlenburg, A. W., 99, loi, 135. 

Mulford, Eiisha, 137, 148, 149, 

150. 151- 
Murray, John, 43, 141. 
Murray, Nicholas, 124. 
Music Hall, Boston, 246, 258, 

263. 

" Nahant," 91. 

Niipoleon, 21, 206-209. 

" National Literature," Chan- 

ning's, 210. 
" Near to Nature's Heart," Roe's, 

112. 
Nelson, David, 119. 
Newburyport, 16. 
New England Society, 274, 286. 



INDEX 



395 



New England Theology, 138. 
New Haven, 178, 272. 
New London, 194. 
Newport, 29, 139, 193, 207. 
Newton Theological Institution, 

117. 
New York, 272, 286, 308, 309, 330, 

338, 378. 
New York Evangelist, 298. 
New York Independent, 322. 
Niagara Falls, 189, 207. 
Northampton, 6, 157, 160, 177. 
North Church, in Hartford, 272. 
" Northern Iron," 278. 
Norwegians, 383. 
"Norwood," Beecher's, 326-329. 
Nott, Eliphalet, President of 

Union CoUfge, 7; on duelling, 

25 ; on temperance, 27. 

Oberlin, 288. 

" Ode on the Glory of Columbia," 

Dwight's, 160. 
Ohio, 306. 
" On the Landingof the Pilgrims," 

Brooks's, 379. 
Oregon, 273. 
Otey, Bishop, 35. 
Otis, Jiimes, 17. 
" Our Mercies of Reoccupation," 

Brooks's," 346-348. 
Oxford, 325. 

Paine, Thomas, 21, 142, 179, 281. 

Paley, 45, 141. 

Palfrey, J. G., 48, 80. 

Palmer, Ray, 99, 100. 

Park Street Church, Boston, 31. 

Parker, Samuel, 16. 

Parker, Theodore, an abolitionist, 
32; an extremist, 129; Lowell 
on, 229; prayed for, 230; esti- 
mate of, 231; birth of, 232; his 
love for books, 232 ; his knowl- 



edge of German, 233 ; his idea 
of the Bible, 234; mental atti- 
tude of, 235 ; in West Roxbury, 
235; remams a minister, 235; 
refused exchange of pulpits, 
236; lectures in Boston, 236; 
at the ordination of Mr. Shack- 
ford, 236; religious writings of, 
237; on the Holy Communion, 
239; literary work of, 240; 
friends of, 241 ; writes for The 
Dial, 242 ; defends Pierpont, 
243 ; journey abroad of, 245 ; as 
a preacher, 246,247; preaches 
in Boston, 246; his choice of 
topics, 248 ; poem by, 249 ; on 
slavery, 249; his journal, 249; 
on Webster, 250; on Zachary 
Taylor, 251; on Scriptural ar- 
gument for slavery, 252; mar- 
ries the Crafts, 253 ; diary of, 
254 ; in Faneuil Hall, 255 ; 
during the Kansas War, 257 ; 
vrrites to Francis Jackson, 258 ; 
illness of, 258; death of, 259; 
last words of, 259 ; as a literary 
man, 261 ; a writer of letters, 
262 ; private journal of, 263 ; 
poems of, 265, 266 ; his letter to 
George Ripley, 267. 

Parsons, General, 159. 

Peace Society, 224. 

Peck, J. M., 118. 

Peekskill, 326. 

Perry, W. S., 137. 

Peters, Samuel, 284. 

Phelps, Austin, 303. 

Philadelphia, 134, 342, 345, 346, 

349, 350. 
Phillips, Samuel, 343. 
Phillips, Wendell, 1^7, 255. 
" Philo : an Evangeliad," Judd's, 

103. 
Pierpont, John, 83 ; his estimate 



396 



INDEX 



of Channing, 86; poems of, 
86-88; on intemperance, 242; 
Unitarianism ot, 244; a chap- 
lain, 245. 

Pilate, 109. 

Plymouth Church, organized, 
307 ; pulpit of, 309 ; twenty- 
fifth anniversary of, 311 ; a 
parishioner of, 318, 330. 

" Poems, Patrioiic, Religious, and 
Miscellaneous," Ryan's, 94. 

" Poems, Sacred and Secular," 
Croswell's, 90. 

" Politics under the Law of God," 
Bushnell's, 277. 

Pormort, Philemon, 376. 

Porter, Noah, 7, 125; writings of, 
127 ; defends Bushneli, 127, 298. 

Portsmouth, N.H., 22. 

Potter, Alonzo, 133-134. 

Prentice, G. D., 124. 

Presbyterians, 10 ; clergy of, 27 ; 
on slavery, 30 ; on fugitive slave 
law, 32; hymn-writers of, loo- 
loi ; writers among, 113; theol- 
ogy of, 118 ; likeness to Congre- 
gationalists, 126; influence of, 
140 ; newspaper of, 322. 

Prescott, W. H., 241. 

Priestley, Dr., 71, 179. 

Princeton, 7, 44, 100, 120, 153. 

Princetott Review, 146, 155, 298, 

352- 
Princeton Theological Seminary, 

140, 146. 
" Probus," Ware's, io8. 
Provoost, Dr., 70. 
Punch, 153, 336. 
Putnam, General, 159, 187, 284. 

Quakers, 10 ; on slavery, 29 ; lack 
of hymns of, 100; inner light of, 
114, 281. 

Quarterly Review, 185. 



Queen's College, Belfast, 153. 
Quincy, Josiah, 2. 

Randolph, John, 133, 273. 

" Reform against Nature," Bush- 
nell's, 288. 

Reid, 120, 196. 

" Remarks on Associations," 
Clianning's, 203. 

Rcnan, 191. 

"Reverses Needed," Bushnell's, 
280. 

Rhode Island, 341. 

'■ Richard Edney, 103. 

Richards, George, loi. 

Richardson, Professor, 45. 

Richmond, Va., 196. 

Ripley, George, defends Roe, no; 
a friend of Parker, 241 ; leaves 
the ministry, 244; Parker's let- 
ter to, 267. 

Robbins, Chandler, loi, 

Robertson, 369. 

Robinson, Edward, 119. 

Roe, E. P., novels of, 102; home 
of, no; writings of, 109-112. 

Roman Catholic Church, writers 
of, 113; literature of, 122; in 
America, 123; Brownson in, 

125- 
Rome, 258. 
Rothe, 148. 
Rousseau, 21, 197. 
Ruskin, 369. 
Russell, Lord John, 273. 
Russell, Rev. Mr., 51. 
Russia, 338. 
Rutgers College, 7. 
Rutland, 18. 
Ryan, J. J., 85, 94, 95, 96. 

" Saint Luke," 91. 
San Francisco, 129. 
Sanitary Commission, 36. 



INDEX 



397 



Sargent, J. T., 236. 

Schaff, Phillip, 100, 119, 121. 

Schleiermacher, 234, 238, 369. 

Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, 44. 

Scotland, 153. 

Scott, General, 34. 

Sears, E. H., 99, loi. 

Seeker, Archbishop, 69, 70. 

Seminole War, 214, 224. 

" Sermons for the New Life," 

Bushnell's, 291. 
Seward, Secretary, 36, 124, 262. 
Shackford, C. C, 230, '(236. 
Shadrach, the fugitive slave, 254. 
Shakespeare, 207, 325. 
" Shall We Compromise ? " Beech- 

er's, 323. 
Sharp, Granville, 139. 
Shedd, W. G. T., 119, 121. 
Shepard, 12. 
Sherman, Judge, 190. 
Sigourney, Mrs., 90. 
Sims, Thomas, 254. 
" Slavery," Channing's, 216. 
Smith, H. B., 119, 120. 
Smith, S. F., 99. 
Smith, William, 17, 132. 
" Society for the Propagation of 

the Gospel," 57, 68. 
South Boston, 230. 
South Carolina, 254. 
Spalding, M. J., 124. 
Sparks, Jared, 198. 
Spencer, Herbert, 155, 314. 
Sprague, W. B., 119. 
Stanley, Dean, 352, 380. 
St. Anthony, 183. 
" Star Papers," Beecher's, 325. 
" State of the Country," Hodges's, 

146. 
Stedman, Mr., 98. 
Sterling, John, 273. 
Stevens, Abel, 116. 
Stiles, Ezra, 7, 48 ; Latin orations 



of, 49 ; his " History of the 
Three Judges," 49 ; on the Rev- 
olution, 52; writings of, 53; 
influences Channing, 193. 

Stillman, Samuel, 29. 

St. Johnland, 135. 

St. Mark's School, Southborough, 
92. 

St. Mary's, Baltimore, 123. 

Stockton, T. H., loi. 

Stone, Samuel, 62. 

Storrs, R. R., 311. 

Story, Judge, 192, 194, 324. 

Stowe, H. B., 127, 304. 

St. Patrick's Cathedral, 124. 

St. Paul's Church, Boston, 352. 

Stratford-on-.\von, 325. 

Stuart, Moses, 35. 

St. Vitus, 183. 

Suffolk St. Chapel, 236. 

Summers, T. O., loi. 

Sumner, Charles, 150. 

Swing, David, 119. 

Switzerland, 121, 207. 

Syracuse University, 116. 

Taylor, N. W., 176. 

Taylor, Zachary, 250. 

Temple Church, London, 364. 

Tennent, 119. 

Tennyson, Alfred, 380. 

Tennyson, Hallam, 381. 

Texas, 214, 216. 

Thackeray, 153. 

"The Age of Homespun," Bush- 
nell's, 285. 

The Analytical Review, 164. 

"The Anarchiad," 161. 

" The Annals of America," by A. 
Holmes, 62. 

"The Annexation of Texas," 
Channing's, 220. 

"The Battle Set in Array," 
Beecher's, 331. 



398 



INDEX 



" The Centralizing Power of the 
Gospel," Brooks's, 344. 

The Christian Union, 324. 

The Church Union, 324. 

"The Conquered Banner," 
Ryan's. 95. 

" The Conquest of Canaan," 
Dwight's, 85, 162, 163, 164. 

" The Delphian Children," Low- 
ell's, 93. 

The Dial, 241, 242, 244. 

"The Elements of Intellectual 
Philosophy," Wayland's, 145. 

"The Elements ol Moral Sci- 
ence," Wayland's, 145. 

" The Elements of Political 
Economy," Wayland's, 145. 

"The Evening Hymn," Parker's, 
265. 

" The Evidences of Christianity," 
Mark Hopkins's, 152. 

"The Foresieis," Belknap's, 56. 

" The Founders Great in their Un- 
consciousness," Rushnell's, 286. 

"The History of Cambridge," A. 
Holmes's, 62. 

"The History of Napoleon," Ab- 
bott's, 75. 

The Independent, 325. 

"The Influence of Jesus," 
Brooks's, 369-373. 

"The Last Irish Grievance," 
Thackeray, 154. 

The Ledger, 326. 

" The Life and Death of Abra- 
ham Lincoln," Brooks's, 346, 

349-350- 

The Louvre, 325. 

The Massachusetts Quarterly 
Review, 243, 244. 

"The Moral Argument against 
Calvinism," Channing's, 201. 

" The Mother at Home," Ab- 
bott's, 72. 



"The Nation," Mulford's, 149. 
"The National Flag," Beecher's, 

332- 
The National Gallery, London, 

325- 

" The New Crime against Hu- 
manity," Parker's, 256. 

"The New Priest of Conception 
Bay," Lowell's, 92. 

" The Painter's Probation," Low- 
ell's, 93. 

" The Purposes of Scholarship," 
Brooks's, 374. 

"The Relief of Lucknow," Low- 
ell's, 93. 

" The Republic of God," Mul- 
ford's, 149. 

" The Sword of Lee," Ryan's, 95. 

" The Transient and Permanent 
in Christianity," Parker's, 236. 

The Tribune, 245. 

" The Triumph of Infidelity," 
Dv\ight's, 167. 

" The Waiting City," Brooks's, 
366. 

Thiers, 273. 

Tholuck, 245. 

Thomson, W. P., 119. 

Thurston, Father, 193. 

Ticonderoga, 19, 284. 

Tiffany, 309. 

Tiliotson, 45. 

Titian, 107. 

Transcendentalism, loi, 103, 241. 

" Travels in New England," 
Dwight's, 185. 

Trappist monks, 124. 

Tremont House, Boston, 241. 

Trinity Church, Boston, 22, 342, 

385. 
Trinity Church, New York, 352. 
Trumbull, John, 161. 
Tubingen School, 234. 
Tyler, M, C, 178. 



INDEX 



399 



Union College, 27, 92, 133, 

Union Theological Seminary, 100, 
120, 121. 

Unitarians, 44; hymns of, loi ; 
defended by Judd, 103; writers 
of, 113; attacked by Lyman 
Beecher, 126 ; in American 
letters, 128; controversies of, 
227; Parker and, 234; clergy 
of, 236; development among, 
236; literature of, 244; Bush- 
nell and, 292. 

Universalists, 43; hymns of, loi, 
102 ; Ballou's influence on, 
141 ; church of, 144. 

University of Pennsylvania, 132, 

134- 
University of Rochester, 117. 

Vassar College, 117. 

Venice, 264. 

Venus de Medici, 264. 

Venus of Milo, 264. 

Versailles, 336. 

"Vicarious Sacrifice," Bushnell's, 
298, 300. 

Vigilance Committee, 253, 254. 

" Vindication of Slavery," Hop- 
kins's, 134. 

Virginia, 255, 256, 258. 

Voliaire, 21, 168. 

Wadsworth House, 376. 

" War," Channing's, 224. 

Ward, Nathaniel, 40. 

Ware, Jr., Henry, loi. 

Ware, William, novels of, 102; 

on Allston, 107 ; writings of, 

106-109. 
War of 1S12, 14, 181, 214. 
Warren, 164, 187. 
Warwick Castle, 325. 
Washburn, E. A., loi. 
Washington, George, 16; Paine 



to, 22, 71 ; friendship for Bishop 

Mead, 133; friend of Dvvight, 

159; Dwight on, 180. 
Waterloo, 181. 
Watts, Dr., 175, 
Wayland, Francis, 7 ; President 

ot Brown, 117; a theologian, 

137; wri lings of, 144-146. 
Webster, Daniel, at school, 5; 

to the Senate, 34; love for the 

Union, 215 ; on Fugitive Slave 

Bill, 250. 
Webster, Ezekiel, 5. 
Weed, Thurlow, 124. 
M'eei/y Mercury, 64. 
Weld, Rev. Abijah, 5. 
Wentworth, Governor, 54. 
Wesleyan University, 115, 116. 
Western Farmer and Gardener, 

307, 322. 
Westminster Abbey, 362, 380. 
West Roxbury, 235, 241, 245. 
West, Samuel, 19. 
Whalley, 49, 51. 
"What Can She Do?" Roe's, 

III. 
White Plains, 19. 
White, William, 48; chaplain of 

Congress, 17; writes " Me- 

moiis," 67; a bishop, 69, 70; 

an organizer, 132. 
Whitiier, J. G., 41; his poem on 

Mulford, 150; opinion of Dr. 

Hopkins, 139. 
Wigglesworth, Michael, 40. 
William and Mary College, 6, 221. 
Williams College, no, 151. 
Wilson, Dr., 305. 
Winchester, E., 141. 
Windsor Castle, 384. 
Witherspoon, John, 119, 120. 
Woman's suffrage, 287, 
Woolman, John, 41. 
Wordsworth, 207. 



400 



INDEX 



Yale College, 6; students in, 21 ; 
sermons on duelling at, 25 ; 
Stiles at, 48 ; Franklin visits, 
49; Stiles, president of, 52; 
Porter,presidentof, 127; Dwight 
at, 165, 175 ; Federalist opinion 



in, 181 ; Bushnell's influence at, 
270; Bushnell's oration at, 293, 
297 ; Beecher lectures at, 317 ; 
Phillips Brooks lectures at, 356. 

" Zenobia," Ware's, 108. 



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Holmes, Longfellow, and Lowell ; and their pleasant gossip makes 
up the major part of the volume, which is altogether a most enjoya- 
ble and valuable one." — Philadelphia Eveni?ig Telegraph. 

" It is just the sort of book that one would expect from the author, 
graceful in form, abounding in the genuine atmosphere of the old 
university towTi, full of pleasant personal anecdotes and reminis- 
cences of the Cambridge of forty or fifty years ago. Many great 
figures pass across the stage, with nearly all of whom Colonel Hig- 
ginson was personally acquainted ; and this intimacy gives the book 
a charming flavor." — Brooklyn Life. 

" The book contains material to be had nowhere else, for it is a 
commentary on the side history of a great epoch in American letters, 
written by one who had a place in it." — San Francisco Argonaut. 

" What he has to tell will be interesting to every person who honors 
New England and sets store by her literature. The book is steeped 
in the Attic dew of which the Cambridge cicadas were fond ; it has 
a smack of ambrosia, — American ambrosia, — and its leaves rustle 
with the unmistakable Parnassian suggestion — a Puritan Parnassus 
to be sure. . . . The Cambridge he dwells upon is the Cambridge 
of the Boston circle of poets, philosophers, politicians, reformers, 
scholars, statesmen, preachers, and divine cranks. He sketches 
everything and everybody freely, swiftly, and lightly." — Independent. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 



Brook Farm 

ITS MEMBERS, SCHOLARS, AND VISITORS 

By LINDSAY SWIFT 

Cloth. 16mo. Price $1.25 



CONTENTS 



The Transcendental Club — Brook Farm — The 
School and Its Scholars — The Members — The 
Visitors — The Closing Period — Bibliography — 
Index 

"Mr. Swift . . . deals with the experimenters rather 
than with the experiments . . . and with the influence of 
the life at Brook Farm upon the individuality of its mem- 
bers." — TJie Mail and Express. 

" Mr. Lindsay Swift takes up and describes very amply 
the most romantic, interesting, and far-reaching movement 
in the history of American literature — the story of Brook 
Farm." — Times Saturday Review. 

"The book has a value apart from its delineation of 
Brook Farm. ... It ought to be widely and carefully 
read, especially where . . . socialistic notions are gaining 
many adherents, for it will aid the young enthusiast to de- 
fine what may be and what cannot be for a very long 
century at least." — The Outlook. 



t 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 



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